A senior official at the United Bank said the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) will not launch the United Bank's initial public offering (IPO) on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) until it approves the bank's 2015 budget. The source said in special remarks to Daily News Egypt the bank has already finalised the 2015 budget and it is currently being reviewed by the CBE, the Accountability State Authority (ASA), and Hazem Hassan Consulting Office. CBE Governor Tarek Amer revealed Sunday evening that the CBE intends to launch the United Bank's IPO on the stock exchange. According to the source, the bank is yet to receive any formal instructions from the CBE regarding the IPO process. The United Bank was established in 2006 and three banks merged with it, including the United Bank of Egypt, the Islamic International Bank for Investment and Development, and Nile Bank. The United Bank's capital is EGP 1bn and the CBE owns 99.9% of its shares. Upon its launch, the United Bank received a deposit of EGP 5bn from the CBE, aiming to resolve the problems of the three merged banks. The United Bank is expected to pay off this deposit in 2020. Earlier in 2015, former head of the United Bank Mohamed Ashmawy told Daily News Egypt the bank is ready to enter the stock exchange after it repaid its loans and recorded profits since 2012. According to Acting Chairman of the United Bank Farag Abdel Hamid, the bank overcame losses and hit profitability during 2013 and 2014, at approximately EGP 356m. The United Bank is expected to achieve a profit increase of at least 15% for 2015 compared to 2014. Abdel Hamid said the total size of deposits in the bank by the end of 2015 exceeded EGP 20bn, while its assets exceeded EGP 28bn. The United Bank ranks second among Islamic banks in the Egyptian market, after Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt. Islamic banking activities represent about 60% of the bank's business, and the bank's board is seeking to shift fully to Islamic banking if the size of its Islamic transactions registers 80% of the total activities of the bank.
