Emirates NBD Egypt strengthens foreign currency financial position in H1 2026

First Bank's analysis of Emirates NBD Egypt's financial statements showed an improvement in the bank's position among institutions least exposed to exchange-rate volatility in the Egyptian market during Q2 2026, as it advanced four places to rank sixth at end-June, compared with tenth at end-March 2026.

The improvement was supported by the foreign currency assets-to-liabilities ratio moving closer to parity, reaching 1.00764 at end-June 2026, compared with 0.97250 at end-March, indicating lower potential exposure to exchange-rate fluctuations under First Bank's ranking methodology.

This coincided with an expansion in the bank's foreign currency financial activity, with the EGP equivalent of total foreign currency-denominated financial assets rising 35 per cent during H1 2026 to approximately EGP 65.40bn at end-June, from EGP 48.46bn at end-2025, an increase of EGP 16.94bn.

Meanwhile, the EGP equivalent of foreign currency-denominated financial liabilities increased by 34.2 per cent to EGP 64.90bn at end-June 2026, from EGP 48.37bn at end-2025, an increase of EGP 16.53bn.

The surplus of foreign currency financial assets over corresponding liabilities reached an EGP equivalent of EGP 496.06mn at end-June 2026, compared with EGP 90.56mn at end-2025, with the difference between the two remaining limited relative to total foreign currency-denominated balances.

US dollar accounts for 83.3% of foreign currency financial assets

The US dollar accounted for the largest share of Emirates NBD Egypt's foreign currency financial assets at end-June 2026, representing 83.3 per cent, followed by the euro at 14.3 per cent and sterling at 0.6 per cent. Other currencies collectively accounted for the remaining 1.8 per cent.

The EGP equivalent of US dollar-denominated financial assets increased by 45.5 per cent during H1 2026 to EGP 54.48bn at end-June, from EGP 37.45bn at end-2025, an increase of approximately EGP 17.04bn.

Meanwhile, the EGP equivalent of US dollar-denominated financial liabilities rose 43.9 per cent to approximately EGP 54bn at end-June 2026, compared with EGP 37.53bn at end-2025, an increase of EGP 16.48bn.

The growth rate of the EGP equivalent of dollar-denominated assets consequently exceeded that of liabilities by 1.6 percentage points, affecting the bank's net financial position in the US currency.

The bank's net US dollar financial position shifted from a negative EGP equivalent of EGP 82.04mn at end-2025 to a positive EGP 480.31mn at end-June 2026, as dollar-denominated assets exceeded corresponding liabilities.

Balances with banks account for 58.5% of US dollar financial assets

First Bank's analysis of Emirates NBD Egypt's US dollar-denominated financial assets showed that balances with banks accounted for the largest share at end-June 2026, reaching an EGP equivalent of EGP 31.85bn, or 58.5 per cent of total financial assets denominated in the currency.

Customer loans and facilities ranked second, reaching an EGP equivalent of EGP 13.28bn and accounting for 24.4 per cent of US dollar financial assets.

Treasury bills followed with approximately EGP 8.18bn, representing around 15 per cent of the bank's dollar-denominated financial assets.

This distribution shows that balances with banking institutions accounted for the largest portion of US dollar financial assets, while the remaining share was mainly distributed between customer loans and investments in debt instruments.

On the funding side, customer deposits accounted for the largest share of US dollar-denominated financial liabilities, reaching an EGP equivalent of EGP 46.55bn at end-June 2026, or 86.2 per cent of the total.

This reflects the bank's reliance primarily on customer deposits for its US dollar funding, alongside liabilities to banking institutions and other funding sources.

Euro and sterling record varying growth rates

The EGP equivalent of euro-denominated financial assets at Emirates NBD Egypt increased by 2 per cent during H1 2026 to approximately EGP 9.38bn at end-June, from EGP 9.20bn at end-2025.

Meanwhile, the EGP equivalent of euro-denominated financial liabilities rose 3.8 per cent to EGP 9.44bn at end-June 2026, compared with EGP 9.10bn at end-2025.

The faster growth in liabilities shifted the bank's net euro financial position from a positive EGP equivalent of EGP 98.29mn at end-2025 to a negative EGP 60.82mn at end-June 2026.

For sterling, the EGP equivalent of financial assets increased by 19.5 per cent during H1 2026 to EGP 370.35mn at end-June, compared with EGP 309.90mn at end-2025.

On the liabilities side, the EGP equivalent of sterling-denominated balances increased by 26.8 per cent to EGP 392.86mn at end-June 2026, from EGP 309.86mn at end-2025.

Consequently, the bank recorded a negative net sterling financial position equivalent to EGP 22.52mn at end-June 2026, with sterling-denominated liabilities exceeding corresponding assets.

These figures show varying growth rates across the major foreign currencies. The growth of the EGP equivalent of dollar-denominated assets exceeded that of liabilities, while the opposite occurred for the euro and sterling.

Improved foreign currency position supports rise in FX risk exposure ranking

During Q2 2026, Emirates NBD Egypt shifted from a position in which foreign currency liabilities exceeded corresponding assets to one where assets recorded a limited surplus over liabilities, bringing the ratio between the two closer to one.

First Bank's foreign exchange risk exposure index measures the balance between foreign currency assets and liabilities through the ratio of total assets to total liabilities.

A ratio approaching one indicates a relatively neutral foreign currency position and lower potential exposure to exchange-rate movements under this measure.

Overall, the analysis shows an expansion in the EGP equivalent of Emirates NBD Egypt's foreign currency financial assets and liabilities during H1 2026, led by the US dollar, alongside an improvement in the bank's position in First Bank's foreign exchange risk exposure index during Q2 2026.