Financial investments lead the priorities of top 10 banks in the Egyptian banking market by March-2023end

The latest data from the Central Bank of Egypt revealed a 15.1% increase in the asset portfolio of top 10 banks in the banking sector, reaching EGP10.306 tn by the end of March 2023, compared to EGP8.957 tn by the end of 2022, an increase of EGP1.349 tn.

Analyzing the investment trends of top 10 banks according to the latest data issued by CBE, it was found that they relied primarily on an investment plan centered around investing in securities and T-bills.

The portfolio of securities and investments in T-bills represented the highest relative weight, accounting for 38.39% of the total assets of the top 10 banks, reaching EGP3.96 tn by the end of the first quarter of 2023, compared to EGP3.53 tn by the end of 2022, achieving a growth rate of 11.99% and an increase of EGP423.499 bn across the 10 banks combined.

This is in line with the overall banking sector, as banks operating in the Egyptian banking sector also relied on an investment plan primarily focused on investing in securities and T-bills, although to a slightly lesser extent than the top 10 banks. The portfolio of securities and investments in T-bills accounted for the highest relative weight, recording 37.14% of the total sector assets by the end of March 2023.

Loans provided to customers by top 10 banks in the Egyptian banking sector ranked second, accounting for a relative weight of 34.91% of the total assets of the top ten banks by the end of the first quarter of 2023.

Lending and customer discount balances at top 10 banks jumped by 9.68%, reaching EGP3.597 tn by the end of March 2023, compared to EGP3.280 tn by the end of 2022, an increase of EGP317.593 bn.

The balances at top 10 banks internally constituted the third largest component of asset portfolio of the Egyptian banking sector by the end of the first quarter of 2023, with a relative weight of 15.17%, totaling EGP 1.56 tn by the end of last March, compared to EGP1.35 tn by the end of 2022. The remaining percentage was concentrated in other diversified assets.