The United Bank of Egypt has succeeded in the last period to expand in Islamic banking as 70% of its transactions are compliant with Islamic sharia law after offering unique Islamic banking products, said Reda Maghawry, head of the Islamic Economics Center at the bank. On the sidelines of the first conference organized by the Egyptian Islamic Finance Association under the title of the development prospects of Islamic finance in Egypt, Maghawry added that the United Bank plans to conduct sharia-compliant banking transactions only in the upcoming period. The United Bank offers a comprehensive program called “Intilaqa" to finance SMEs which aims at offering EGP 5 billion finances in five programs namely; the distributor, the transporter, the supplier, environmental compliance and franchising. The bank plans to enhance the quality, quantity and variety of these finances in order to meet customers' needs in partnership with the Social Fund for Development. The bank offered a product to finance workers in aluminum workshops and another for medical services. Maghawry affirmed that the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) played an important in regaining the position of the United Bank through approving the merger of the United Bank of Egypt, the Islamic International Bank for Investment and Development and the Nile Bank. The United Bank has 42 branches spread across all governorates in Egypt offering all banking services.
