Global Barclays Group decided to exit from the Egyptian market after about 150 years of presence as part of a plan developed by the group aims to sell some of its units in Africa and Europe, according to its CEO Jess Staley. The bank aims to re-focus on a group of simpler activities in the retail, corporate, and investment sectors, according to statement by the bank issued on Wednesday. The statement said Barclays Bank Egypt will be included within Barclays Non-Core business sector, which was launched by the bank in May 2014 to supervise the businesses that it intends to sell or exit from it. According to the bank statement, Barclays Bank Egypt has decided before to join Barclays Africa Group Limited. However negotiations with the global Barclays Group did not succeed and therefore it announced its intention to sell the bank in Egypt. According to the latest available data on its business results, Barclays Bank Egypt achieved profits of EGP 440m during the first nine months of 2015, while its loans portfolio increased to EGP 7.1bn and deposits portfolio increased to EGP 15.5bn. The value of the bank's assets increased in September 2015 to EGP 20bn from EGP 17.9bn in December 2014.
