FX impact pushes nine Egyptian banks down Arab Top 100 deposit ranking

First Bank’s latest ranking of the top 100 Arab banks by customer deposits as of June 2026 revealed that 12 Egyptian banks featured on the list, unchanged from the ranking at the end of 2025.

Despite the stable number of Egyptian banks, their positions recorded varying movements during H1 2026. Three banks maintained their rankings, while nine slipped, with no Egyptian bank advancing in the list.

Three Egyptian banks maintain their positions

National Bank of Egypt (NBE) maintained its seventh place among Arab banks, as its customer deposits rose to approximately USD128.13bn at the end of June 2026, compared to USD121.57bn at the end of 2025.

Banque Misr also retained its 13th place, with customer deposits increasing to USD67.10bn at the end of June 2026, compared to USD63.49bn at the end of 2025.

CIB maintained its 33rd place among Arab banks, despite recording the highest growth rate among the Egyptian banks featured on the list. Its customer deposits increased by around 15 per cent to USD26.54bn at the end of June 2026, compared to USD23.17bn at the end of 2025.

Nine Egyptian banks lose ground in the deposits race

Meanwhile, nine Egyptian banks slipped in the ranking, despite recording growth in their customer deposits during the first half of the year.

Arab African International Bank (AAIB) and ALEXBANK recorded the smallest declines, each losing one place.

AAIB fell to 44th place, compared to 43rd at the end of 2025, despite a 4 per cent increase in its deposits on a half-year basis to USD15.02bn at the end of June 2026, compared to USD14.40bn at the end of 2025.

Similarly, ALEXBANK slipped to 83rd place, compared to 82nd, despite an 11 per cent increase in its deposits during H1 2026 to USD4.33bn at the end of June, compared to USD3.89bn at the end of 2025.

Suez Canal Bank, meanwhile, lost two places, falling to 78th position from 76th, despite recording 11 per cent growth in its deposits on a half-year basis to USD4.86bn at the end of June 2026, compared to USD4.38bn at the end of 2025.

Housing and Development Bank (HDB) also dropped two places to 85th, compared to 83rd, despite a 9 per cent increase in its deposits during H1 2026 to USD4.12bn at the end of June, compared to USD3.76bn at the end of 2025.

Banque du Caire lost three places, falling to 65th position from 62nd, despite recording 7 per cent growth in its deposits during the first half of the year to USD8.96bn at the end of June 2026, compared to USD8.41bn at the end of 2025.

Export Development Bank of Egypt (EBank) recorded the same decline, slipping to 92nd place from 89th, despite a 7 per cent increase in its deposits on a half-year basis to USD3.27bn at the end of June 2026, compared to USD3.06bn at the end of 2025.

Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt fell four places to 84th, compared to 80th, despite recording 5 per cent growth in its deposits on a half-year basis to USD4.29bn at the end of June 2026, compared to USD4.10bn at the end of 2025.

EGBANK also dropped four places to 99th, compared to 95th, despite its deposits increasing to USD2.47bn at the end of June 2026, compared to USD2.24bn at the end of 2025, representing growth of around 10 per cent on a half-year basis.

Meanwhile, SAIB BANK lost five places, falling to 96th position from 91st, despite recording deposit growth of around 1 per cent on a half-year basis to USD2.98bn at the end of June 2026, compared to USD2.95bn at the end of 2025.

Growth alone is not enough to maintain rankings

The ranking movements highlight intensifying competition across the Arab banking sector, as growth in Egyptian banks’ deposits was insufficient in most cases to maintain their positions, amid faster growth rates recorded by other Arab banks during H1 2026.

The impact of exchange rate movements should also be considered when assessing these changes.

The Egyptian pound’s depreciation against the US dollar by around 3 per cent during the first half of the year reduced the dollar value of deposits denominated in Egyptian pounds when converted into US dollars.

This limited the extent to which growth in local-currency balances was reflected in their dollar value, consequently affecting some banks’ relative positions in the ranking.

Therefore, maintaining a position among the top 100 Arab banks by customer deposits depends not only on increasing deposit balances, but also on the pace of growth compared to competitors and exchange rate movements affecting the dollar value of deposits.