Banks operating in Egypt achieved a net profit of EGP 59.075bn by the end of 2017, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). In a recent report, the CBE stated that the top five banks accounted for 47.424% of the total profits realised by banks. Collectively, the five banks achieved EGP 28.016bn of net profits. The top 10 banks posted profits of EGP 37.02bn, equivalent to about 62.666% of total profits. According to the CBE, these profits were realised in the period between 1 January 2017 and the end of December 2017 for private banks and the period from 1 July 2016 until the end of December 2017 for government banks. The list of banks is topped by the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, Commercial International Bank (CIB), Banque du Caire, and QNB Alahli. Moreover, the CBE said that the total revenues achieved by banks in Egypt in the same period reached EGP 103.826bn, with the top 10 banks accounting for EGP 62.251bn (59.957%) and the top five banks alone accounting for EGP 44.622bn, which is equivalent to 42.977% of total revenues. The net operating income of the banks reached EGP 141.814bn, with the top 10 banks accounting for EGP 86.043bn (60.673%), and the top five banks alone denominating EGP 63.204bn, or 44.568%, of the total. According to the CBE, the return on assets (ROA) for banks operating in the Egyptian market was 2% at the end of December 2017, unchanged from the end of September, June, and March 2017. The average ROA for the top 10 banks scored 1.9%, and 1.8% for the top five. Meanwhile, the return on equity (ROE) was 30.9% at the end of December 2017, unchanged from September, June, and March 2017. It was 32.1% for the top 10 banks and 33.2% for the top five. In addition, the net profit margin was 4.6% at the end of December 2017, unchanged from September, July, and March. The top 10 banks scored an average of 4.6%, while the top five scored 4.5%. On the other hand, the volume of bank expenses by the end of December 2017 amounted to EGP 82.739bn, of which about EGP 49.023bn (59.25%) was realised by the top ten banks and EGP 35.187bn (42.527%) by the top five. This jump in expenses comes alongside a recently mounting interest among banks to modernise their infrastructure, as well spread geographically through mini and regular branches, as well as ATMs and POS machines, to reach clients across Egypt, which has weighed on expenses.
