Egypt’s Commercial International Bank net profit falls 9% in Q1

Egypt’s Commercial International Bank (CIB), the largest private bank in the country, reported an annual decline of 9 percent in its first quarter net profit to 2.4 billion Egyptian pounds (around $152 million).

CIB took larger provisions in the first quarter “to ensure the Bank’s continued solid financial position remains intact amidst current uncertainties,” it said its quarterly earnings release (pdf).

However, revenue growth stayed firm during the first three months of the year, rising 15 percent  to 6.4billion pounds, driven primarily by expansion of its net interest income.

Uncertainty looms

The outlook remains ambiguous [for the remainder of the fiscal year], with no concrete indications as to when the global economy will start picking up,” management said.

Management said CIB absorbed the blow from covid-19 in no small part thanks to its longstanding investment in digital transformation and big data, powering the bank’s expansion of its digital channels in recent months, enabling large-scale work from home for staff. The push will also help support profitability, make “more informed pricing decisions” and help with risk modeling.