Egyptian tycoon Sawiris boosts European presence with a new bank

Egyptian billionaire businessman Naguib Sawiris is stepping up his European presence with the official launch of Luxembourg-based lender, RiverBank SA, on Monday.

As being the founder and director of Marchmont Limited, Sawiris owns a majority stake in RiverBank, which received a full European banking licence from the European Central Bank (ECB) last March.

“The bank is considered an addition to our huge investments in Luxemburg and Europe,” Sawiris stated.

RiverBank is an independent Luxembourg based Pan-European lender that will specialise in providing loans to small and medium-sized businesses with an initial focus on the Benelux and Germany. RiverBank’s mission is to combine the best of the fintech and banking world.

The bank is targeting a volume of loans that varies between € 75,000 and €3 million, in addition to mutual investment opportunities that could reach €10 million in value.

Jean Laurent Girard, former managing director and one of the founders of Morgan Stanley, will be the executive director of RiverBank.

Professor Roland Berger and Michel Péretié, co-founders of RiverRock ECP LLP, said that the creation of RiverBank would complement their strategy to support the backbone of the European economy.

Earlier, Sawiris announced in March 2016 plans to invest €50 million to set up a bank in Luxembourg specialising in services for small and medium-sized businesses.