BREAKING: Egypt’s central bank picks Barclays for United Bank sale

Egypt’s central bank has announced on Wednesday that it had picked Barclays Bank as its international financial advisor for the fully divestiture of the United Bank.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) had also chosen CI Capital as its local financial advisor.

The announcement came in line with the Egyptian government’s recently-announced ambitious divestiture programme that aims to boost the role of the private sector and pave the way for more inclusive and private-sector-led economic growth.

As a part of this program, the CBE said it decided to fully divest its stake in the United Bank.

This transaction is considered to be one from a series of divestments to be undertaken by the Egyptian authorities in the upcoming four years.

“Barclays will execute its mandate alongside CI Capital Investment Banking S.A.E. (“CI Capital”), the appointed Local Financial Advisor.” the CBE further said in a statement.

As part of its reform strategy in Egypt, the CBE established the United Bank in June 2006 through the merger of three banks; the Egyptian United Bank, the Nile Bank, and Islamic International Bank for Investment and Development.

The United Bank is positioned as one of the key financial services providers in Egypt, recognizable for its people, strong core values, outstanding performance and sustainable growth.

It serves its clients through various segments including retail, corporate, small and medium enterprises as well as Islamic banking services, amongst others.

The bank had a large network of 68 branches and 211 ATMs and counts 1,730 employees.

As at December 2022, the United Bank had total assets of 60 billion Egyptian pounds, total equity of 10.7 billion pounds and strong capitalisation with a 21 percent Capital Adequacy Ratio.