Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) Egypt has announced its financial results for 2021, marking its first year of operation in Egypt. Full of achievements, 2021 reflects the success of the bank's strategy and its efficiency in achieving a strong growth and outstanding financial performance, driving the bank to be at the top of the lists of the fastest growing banks in Egypt throughout 2021. These results and achievements highlight the solidity of the Egyptian economy and its ability to recover following the pandemic. The ADCB has recorded a balanced growth across all activities and business sectors while maintaining efficiency and risk ratios. The bank achieved a net profit of EGP 710m in 2021, with a growth rate of 45% compared to the previous year. The bank's net assets also increased by 41%, reaching EGP 48.4bn, the loans portfolio grew by 28%, customer deposits by 41%, and the customer base by 15% y-o-y. Ihab Al-Sewerky, the CEO and Managing Director of ADCB Egypt, commented: "During 2021, the bank was able to achieve a robust growth that highlighted the success of our strategy, operational performance, and all efforts exerted. We are proud of the achievements accomplished during the bank's first year in Egypt despite the challenges that only motivated us to go through the implementation of our five-year strategy and accelerate the digital transformation plan to offer the best services and improve our efficiency in alignment with our vision to become the most preferred bank for our customers." "We look forward to achieving further growth, pursuing our expansion plans, and increasing our customer base. We are committed to achieve a sustainable value for all our stakeholders and support the community in line with Egypt's 2030 Vision and the directions of the Central Bank." The ADCB has achieved a robust increase, recording a net profit of EGP 710m in 2021, with a growth rate of 44.8%. The return on equity also reached 15.1%. To enable the bank to continue its expansion plan, the capital adequacy ratio reached 21.8%, thus exceeding the required regulatory limit, noting that the bank announced in early 2022 the completion of all procedures for the increase of its issued and paid capital to EGP 5bn, thus positioning the ADCB among the first banks meeting the required capital increase. In order to achieve operational efficiency, the bank was able to reduce the cost-to-income ratio by 3% despite its growth plans and investment in technological infrastructure and human resources to offer the highest level of services and ensure customers' satisfaction. Total assets also recorded an increase of 41% to reach EGP 48.4bn in 2021 in comparison to the same period last year. Additionally, the ADCB was able to attract new customers and increase the customers' base by 15% during 2021 across the different lines of businesses that witnessed a strong and balanced growth. Total customer deposits increased by 41.3% to reach EGP 41.1bn at the end of 2021 y-o-y, and the customer loans portfolio increased by 28.2% to reach EGP 22.3bn. The bank was able to maintain the quality and diversity of its portfolio while decreasing the non-performing loans rate to 3.9%, compared to the 5.2% recorded at the end of 2020. The loans coverage ratio reached 63% as well, while loan-to-deposit ratio was 55%. In order to support the corporation in its growth and small and medium enterprises, one of the priority segments — as per the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) — the ADCB achieved a significant increase in the corporate loan portfolio, driven by the growth in financing activities, where small and medium enterprise loans increased by 50% and large corporate loans by 30% by the end of December 2021. The ADCB has also been working to expand its retail franchise by offering innovative products and digital services following the model of the ADCB Group in UAE. Thus, the retail loans portfolio for individuals amounted to around EGP 7.4bn in December 2021, compared to EGP 6.2bn in December 2020, with a y-o-y increase of 20%. Furthermore, the bank pays great attention to digital banking services to increase customer satisfaction. The ADCB has launched several distinguished services, such as mobile and internet banking services for both individuals and companies, cash deposit ATMS, phone banking, and an interactive chatbot on the website, relying on state-of-the-art secured technology. Accordingly, the bank has recorded a huge leap of 305% in the number of digital customers, while 51% of the bank's transactions have been digital in 2021. In parallel, the bank has also launched the first anti-fraud real-time system enhanced by artificial intelligence in-order to advance the bank's control capabilities on various banking channels. In terms of geographical growth, the bank is pursuing the expansion and optimisation of its network of branches to continue attracting new customers. Accordingly, the ADCB has inaugurated its Concord Plaza branch by the end of 2021, thus bringing the total number of branches to 46 in 22 governorates across Egypt. Additionally, the ADCB announced its integrated vision for financial inclusion, targeting all segments and with a focus on youths and people with disabilities, which is in line with the directives of the government and the CBE. Consequently, the bank launched its 'Erada' package, which is a first-of-its-kind service that offers integrated banking and non-banking benefits designed to support people with disabilities in their daily lives. The package includes opening accounts with no fees nor minimum limit as well as receiving a medical card to enjoy many specialised medical services and prosthetic devices with reduced cost. Furthermore, community support is an intrinsic commitment, as evidenced through the bank's participation in a number of important initiatives, such as the donation of EGP 2m to the Long Live Egypt Fund that is targeting those affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The bank has also signed a 3-year cooperation protocol to provide EGP 10m for Ahl Masr Hospital for burn victims, in addition to EGP 500,000 to the Baheya Foundation for early detection and treatment of breast cancer, and another EGP 500,000 to the children's Cancer Hospital. The ADCB received five prestigious awards during its first year. The British Global Business Outlook magazine awarded the bank the 'Fastest Growing Digital Bank in 2021' prize, and the Digital Banker awarded it the 'Best Digital Transformation Programme', 'Excellence in Technology Transformation', 'Best Financial Inclusion Initiative', and 'Best Graduate Employment Programme' prizes. The bank looks forward to maintaining its high-performance levels, pursuing its growth plans, further developing its digital infrastructure and offerings, increasing its customer base, and continuing the enhancement of its services to achieve customer satisfaction in 2022. The ADCB is also planning to pursue investing in training and creating the best working conditions for its employees, who affirmed their commitment and dedication to serving the customers of the bank since its launch. The bank is also committed to continue its contribution to support the economy; provide sustainable value to its customers, employees, and shareholders; and serve the community according to Egypt's 2030 Vision and the CBE's guidelines.
