QNB Egypt maintains stable NPL ratio despite loan portfolio tripling in five years

QNB Egypt maintained a stable non-performing loan (NPL) ratio over the past five years despite a significant expansion in its lending activity.

Impaired loans accounted for approximately 3.70 per cent of total loans at end-September 2026, broadly in line with the level recorded in September 2021, while the bank’s loan portfolio grew by 204.2 per cent over the same period.

This performance reflects differing trends in asset quality across the retail and corporate loan portfolios. While the NPL ratio improved in the retail segment, it recorded a slight increase in the corporate segment, helping keep the bank’s overall credit risk indicator stable.

According to the data, QNB Egypt’s total loan portfolio increased from EGP 179.84 bn at end-September 2021 to EGP 547.16 bn at end-September 2026, representing an increase of EGP 367.32 bn, while the overall NPL ratio remained stable at approximately 3.70 per cent.

Looking at the portfolio breakdown, the retail NPL ratio declined from 2.09 per cent at end-September 2021 to 1.28 per cent at end-September 2026, a decrease of 0.81 percentage points. This coincided with an increase in the retail loan portfolio from EGP 35.36 bn to EGP 96.82 bn, representing growth of 173.8 per cent.

In contrast, the corporate loan portfolio expanded from EGP 144.48 bn to EGP 450.33 bn over the same period, recording growth of 211.7 per cent. Meanwhile, the corporate NPL ratio increased from 4.09 per cent to 4.22 per cent, a modest rise of 0.13 percentage points.

The differing growth rates across the two segments also affected the composition of the bank’s loan portfolio.

Corporate loans accounted for 82.30 per cent of total loans at end-September 2026, compared to 80.34 per cent at end-September 2021, an increase of approximately 1.96 percentage points. This further strengthened the corporate segment’s position as the largest component of the bank’s lending activity.

These indicators suggest that the stability of the overall NPL ratio reflected two different asset quality trends. The decline in the retail NPL ratio helped offset the modest increase in the corporate segment, despite the latter’s growing share of total loans.

Overall, QNB Egypt expanded its loan portfolio to more than three times its September 2021 level over five years while maintaining a stable overall NPL ratio. However, monitoring asset quality in the corporate segment remains important in assessing credit risk as the bank’s lending activity continues to grow.