Management expects to double bank size in next few years CAIRO: Egyptian American Bank (EAB) and Calyon Bank announced their merger yesterday into Crédit Agricole Egypt (CAE). "From a business perspective, Egyptian society will benefit from increased competition and the development of new useful services that cater to the needs of the Egyptian consumer, says Jean-Frederic de Leusse, international retail banking and private equity director of Credit Agricole Group. Noting the economic development the country has witnessed in the past three years, Yasseen Mansour says that El-Mansour and El-Maghraby Investment and Development Co. (MMID) and the international Credit Agricole Bank made a joint acquisition of EAB. He described it as "one of the biggest merger deals Egypt has witnessed. This launch is an important addition to support the development and progress of the Egyptian economy, he adds. Mansour, CAE chairman, is also the president and chief executive officer of MMID, a local private equity holding company with extensive investment in fundamental emerging sectors and a shareholding company in CAE bank. Crédit Agricole Egypt is a joint venture between Crédit Agricole Group, CALYON (the Corporate and Investment Banking wholly-owned subsidiary of Crédit Agricole) and MMID. Crédit Agricole Group has 60 percent of the bank's share, while MMID has 20 percent with the rest owned by small Egyptian investors. The total equity is $1.6 billion. This is, however, not the first presence of the French financial institution, Crédit Agricole, in the country. Crédit Agricole Indosuez Egypt started operations in 2001 when it acquired, along with MMID, 94 percent of Crédit International d'Egypte, previously owned by Crédit Commercial de France CCF and the National Bank of Egypt. In 2005 Crédit Agricole Indosuez Egypt acquired Crédit Lyonnais (Egypt branch) and merged the two banks' activities, jointly founding Calyon Bank Egypt. In January 2006, Crédit Agricole Group, along with its Egyptian MMID, acquired the majority stake in EAB with their key objective "to create a leading operational bank both in retail and corporate banking. Since March 2006, Calyon Bank Egypt and EAB have been working on integrating their banking activities in preparation for the full merger of the two entities. This deal, Mansour notes, is a successful model of joint Egyptian and foreign investment. "Crédit Agricole is engaged in a wide range of financial activities from corporate and investment banking, to retail banking, asset management and insurance, says Adrien Phares, managing director of CAE. According to the company profile, Crédit Agricole is the largest banking organization in France, with a high presence across the entire spectrum of banking and finance activities. It is the European leader in terms of domestic market position and ranks number one in France, two in Europe and fifth in the world in terms of capital. It is located in 60 countries with over 9,000 branches and 21 million clients in France alone. "Our goal is to put this international expertise in the service of the Egyptian economy and community, continues Phares. "This goal is achieved through the successful equal partnership between French banking know-how and Egyptian skills. He explains that after the continuous acquisitions that have marked Crédit Agricole's history in the country, it is time for the staff to relax and focus solely on business development. He notes, however, that service quality was never affected by their focus on mergers and acquisitions but it has put an extra load on the staff. He expects the bank's current operations to double in size in the next few years. The bank intends to operate in both corporate and retail banking. The goal isn't just to be the best bank, but to be profitable as well, he explains, noting that the Central Bank is aiming to produce strong, profitable and competitive banks.
