Hussein Refaie, the Chairperson and Managing Director of the Suez Canal Bank, announced that the bank achieved remarkable growth in 2023, with its net profits reaching EGP 2.3bn in the year, compared to EGP 1.04bn in 2022, marking a 121% increase. Refaie attributed this impressive performance to a 72% increase in net income from returns, which amounted to EGP 3.2bn in 2023, compared to EGP 1.9bn in 2022, as well as a 123% increase in net income from fees and commissions, which reached EGP 661m, compared to EGP 296m. He also noted that the bank's total revenues rose by 82% to EGP 6.2bn, compared to EGP 3.4bn. Refaie stated that the Suez Canal Bank achieved a 38% growth in total assets, which reached EGP 102.9bn in 2023, compared to EGP 74.7bn in 2022, thanks to a 14% increase in loans and facilities. He explained that the bank managed to increase the net portfolio of loans and customer facilities by 14% to EGP 33.8bn in 2023, compared to EGP 29.6bn in 2022. He added that the total portfolio of corporate loans also increased by 14% to EGP 33.4bn, compared to EGP 29.4bn. He said that the growth in the loan portfolio was the result of diversifying the financing of various sectors, such as agriculture, contracting, financial services, real estate, and tourism, which led to the distribution of risks and the diversification of the bank's clients. He further said that the bank's retail banking portfolio grew by 35%, reaching EGP 3.7bn in 2023, compared to EGP 2.8bn in 2022. The portfolio of small, medium, and micro enterprises also reached EGP 7bn. He pointed out that the bank achieved a 12% growth in customer deposit balances, which reached EGP 73.6bn in 2023, compared to EGP 65.8bn in 2022. In another aspect, Refaie revealed the bank's success in increasing its capital from EGP 2bn to EGP 5bn, with a 150% increase through self-financing from the bank's surplus annual profits achieved during the past five years. He highlighted the approval of the Board of Directors to invite the extraordinary general assembly to increase the authorised capital from EGP 5bn to EGP 10bn, to align with the bank's strategy and to achieve its growth targets. Refaie also pointed out that due to the bank's outstanding performance and its customers' trust, it won 14 awards in 2023, including being included in the "Arab Fortune 500" list for the year 2023, which features the 500 largest companies in the Arab region from the Middle East and North Africa. The bank also received the award for the fastest growing bank in Africa on the Financial Times list for 2023, the best bank on the Forbes list of the 50 most powerful companies listed on the Egyptian Exchange for 2023, and the Excellence and Structural Transformation Award 2023 (Brands Review Magazine-UK Banking Excellence and Transformation Award), as well as Fastest Growing Transformation Bank Award 2023, Fastest Growing Bank Award in Corporate Loan Portfolio, and Fastest Growing Bank Award in Retail Loan Portfolio.
