Islamic banking competition: ADIB – Egypt maintains lead, Faisal narrows profit gap in Q3 2026

The Q3 2026 results reignited competition between Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank – Egypt (ADIB – Egypt) and Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt in terms of profitability, as the gap between their standalone quarterly net profits narrowed to approximately EGP 300 mn.

This compared to approximately EGP 1.99 bn in the corresponding quarter of 2025, representing a decline of around 85 per cent, while ADIB – Egypt maintained its lead in total net profits during the first nine months of the current year.

From Faisal's lead to ADIB's advance: how has the competitive balance changed?

The first nine months of 2024 witnessed Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt outperforming ADIB – Egypt in terms of net profits, recording approximately EGP 8.32 bn, compared to EGP 6.65 bn for ADIB – Egypt.

This represented a difference of approximately EGP 1.67 bn in Faisal's favour, reflecting the bank's stronger profitability during the first nine months of 2024.

However, the competitive balance shifted during the corresponding period of 2025, as ADIB – Egypt's profits increased to approximately EGP 9.18 bn, recording a growth rate of 38 per cent.

Meanwhile, Faisal Islamic Bank posted net profits of EGP 2.47 bn during the same period, recording a decline of 70.3 per cent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

Accordingly, the lead shifted from Faisal, with an advantage of EGP 1.67 bn during the first nine months of 2024, to ADIB – Egypt, with an advantage of EGP 6.71 bn in 2025.

This reflected an approximately EGP 8.38 bn shift in the competitive gap between the two banks within one year, highlighting the significant change in their relative profitability positions.

Faisal narrows the gap with ADIB by EGP 2.95 bn as Q3 reveals closer competition

The first nine months of 2026 marked a new shift in competition, as Faisal Islamic Bank's net profits surged to approximately EGP 7.50 bn, compared to EGP 2.47 bn during the corresponding period of 2025.

This represented a growth rate of 203.5 per cent and an increase of approximately EGP 5.03 bn, reflecting a significant recovery in the bank's profitability during the first nine months of 2026.

Despite this increase, Faisal's profits remained approximately 9.9 per cent below their level during the first nine months of 2024, reflecting the recovery of a significant portion of its previous profits.

This performance came amid improved income sources, alongside the impact of foreign currency valuation differences on comparisons across the three years, which also influenced the reported profitability levels.

This improvement was supported by a 29.9 per cent increase in Faisal Islamic Bank's net income from returns, reaching approximately EGP 10.04 bn during the first nine months of 2026.

Additionally, fees and commissions income increased by 38 per cent, reaching approximately EGP 570 mn during the same period, further supporting the bank's improved financial performance.

Meanwhile, ADIB – Egypt continued to strengthen its lead in absolute profit value, as its standalone net profits increased to approximately EGP 11.26 bn during the first nine months of 2026.

This compared to EGP 9.18 bn during the corresponding period of 2025, recording a growth rate of 22.7 per cent and an increase of approximately EGP 2.08 bn.

The acceleration in Faisal's profit growth narrowed the competitive gap between the two banks, as the difference in their net profits during the first nine months of 2026 declined to approximately EGP 3.76 bn.

This compared to EGP 6.71 bn during the corresponding period of 2025, marking a decrease of approximately EGP 2.95 bn, equivalent to 43.9 per cent.

The most notable development emerged in the standalone Q3 results, as ADIB – Egypt recorded net profits of approximately EGP 3.92 bn during the period from July to September 2026.

Meanwhile, Faisal Islamic Bank recorded net profits of approximately EGP 3.62 bn during the same quarter, narrowing the gap between the two banks to approximately EGP 300 mn only.

This convergence reflects a clear shift compared to Q3 2025, when ADIB – Egypt outperformed Faisal with net profits of approximately EGP 3.14 bn, compared to EGP 1.15 bn for Faisal.

The difference between the two banks then approached EGP 2 bn, before narrowing by approximately EGP 1.70 bn during the corresponding quarter of 2026.

Despite ADIB – Egypt maintaining its lead during Q3 2026, the 85.1 per cent decline in the quarterly profit gap compared to the previous year reflects a clearer return to closer competition.

However, the cumulative difference remained in ADIB – Egypt's favour, reaching approximately EGP 3.76 bn at end-September, highlighting its continued lead in total profits despite Faisal's strong recovery.

Thus, the results of the past three years reveal a competition in which the lead shifted from Faisal Islamic Bank to ADIB – Egypt, before the former succeeded in significantly narrowing the gap during 2026.

Nevertheless, ADIB – Egypt maintained its leading position in terms of total profits, despite Faisal's notable recovery and its success in bringing its profitability closer to that of its competitor.

Competition between the two banks will continue to depend on their ability to further develop income sources and achieve sustainable profit growth, making upcoming results another test of the narrowing competitive gap.

This comes as ADIB – Egypt retains its advantage, while Faisal returns to profitability levels closer to its competitor, setting the stage for continued competition between the two Islamic banks.