Egyptian Gulf Bank Launches Islamic Banking Unit

The Egyptian Gulf Bank (EGB) targets to launch an Islamic banking unit in the upcoming period. The new unit will start its work in the fourth quarter of 2012, said Sherif Farouk, general manager of the bank.

The bank plans to expand in Islamic banking services which witness increasing demand in the current period, he added.

The bank requested the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) approval to inaugurate five more branches. The bank did not decide yet whether the new branches will conduct conventional banking transactions or Islamic banking transactions, Farouk noted.

The bank has set a strategy to expand in financing micro-enterprises as it signed a five-year term finance agreement worth EGP 100 million with the Social Fund for Development (SFD) to finance micro-enterprises through its subsidiary company, Tanmeyah Micro Enterprise Services Company.

The Egyptian Gulf Bank achieved net profit of EGP 76.5 million in the first half of 2012, up from EGP 44.6 million in the first half of 2011.