Top 100 Arab lenders: Record Egyptian loan growth reshapes rankings
First Bank’s latest ranking of the 100 largest Arab banks by loans at end-June 2026 revealed that 11 Egyptian banks featured on the list, unchanged from the 2025 ranking.
A comparison between the rankings at end-2025 and June 2026 showed that nine Egyptian banks advanced, while two maintained their positions. No Egyptian bank recorded a decline in its ranking.
3 banks advance 4 places, with AAIB leading the gains
Arab African International Bank (AAIB), Export Development Bank of Egypt (EBank), and Housing and Development Bank (HDB) led Egyptian banks in terms of ranking gains, with each advancing four places.
AAIB climbed from 70th place at end-2025 to 66th at June 2026, as its loan portfolio rose to around USD 6.34 bn, compared to USD 5.31 bn, marking 19.4 per cent half-year growth.
EBank advanced from 96th to 92nd place, with its loan portfolio increasing to around USD 2.02 bn at June 2026, compared to USD 1.87 bn at end-2025, representing 8 per cent half-year growth.
HDB also moved up from the bottom of the list to 96th place, as its loan portfolio increased to around USD 1.54 bn at June 2026, compared to USD 1.26 bn at end-2025, marking 22.1 per cent half-year growth.
4 banks advance 3 places, led by CIB
Meanwhile, four Egyptian banks advanced three places each, led by Commercial International Bank (CIB), which climbed from 51st to 48th place. Its loan portfolio increased to around USD 13.02 bn at June 2026, compared to USD 11.28 bn at end-2025, recording 15.5 per cent half-year growth.
Suez Canal Bank advanced from 87th to 84th place, with its loan portfolio rising to around USD 2.76 bn at June 2026, compared to USD 2.57 bn at end-2025, marking 7.4 per cent half-year growth.
AlexBank also climbed from 97th to 94th place, as its loan portfolio increased to around USD 1.92 bn at June 2026, compared to USD 1.69 bn at end-2025, recording 13.7 per cent half-year growth.
SAIB recorded the same ranking improvement, advancing from 98th to 95th place. This came as its loan portfolio rose to around USD 1.71 bn at June 2026, compared to USD 1.59 bn at end-2025, representing 7.5 per cent growth in just six months.
NBE and Banque Misr advance one place
National Bank of Egypt (NBE) advanced from eighth to seventh place, with its loan portfolio reaching around USD 100.51 bn at June 2026.
Banque Misr also moved up from 25th to 24th place, with its loan portfolio reaching around USD 31.36 bn at the end of June.
Growth without ranking gains: Banque du Caire and EGBank hold their positions
In contrast, Banque du Caire maintained its 71st-place ranking, despite an increase in its loan portfolio to around USD 5.34 bn at June 2026, compared to USD 5.04 bn at end-2025, marking 5.9 per cent half-year growth.
Similarly, Egyptian Gulf Bank (EGBank) retained its 99th-place ranking, even as its loan portfolio increased to around USD 1.35 bn at June 2026, compared to USD 1.27 bn at end-2025, recording 6.1 per cent half-year growth.
These results reflect the strong performance of Egyptian banks during the first half of 2026, as growth in loan portfolios was accompanied by improved rankings for most Egyptian banks on First Bank’s list of the top 100 Arab banks by loans. This indicates that their loan growth outpaced that of several regional competitors.
