The Industrial Development and Workers Bank of Egypt's retail loan portfolio reached EGP 108 million at the end of 2012, compared to EGP 18 million at the end of 2011, registering an increase of EGP 90 million. Such increase is a result of the bank's expansion in a number of finance products such as pharmacists and physicians financing programs, personal loans and educational loans, said Hamdi Azzam, head of the bank's board of directors. The educational loan has not attracted many customers as they prefer the personal loan which accounts for the largest part of the retail loan portfolio, he added. Azzam expected the value of the retail loan portfolio to reach from EGP 200 million to EGP 250 million by the end of 2013, noting that the bank achieved unprecedented growth rates in the history of the bank. The bank achieved initial net profit of EGP 71 million before deducting provisions and taxes. he added that the bank coordinates with the Central Bank of Egypt and regulatory bodies to set a strategy to bridge the provisions gap.
