Thursday, May 13, 2010
(This item was originally published Wednesday.)
CAIRO (Dow Jones)--Commercial International Bank (CIBEY), or CIB, Egypt's largest lender by market value, said Wednesday its net profit for the first quarter of 2010 increased 11.9% as the Egyptian economy recovered.
CIB's first quarter of 2010 net profit was 528 million Egyptian pounds ($94 million), up from EGP472 million in the same period last year, the bank said in an e-mailed statement.
The net profit came above the expectations of Egyptian Investment Bank CI Capital of EGP445.9 million.
"The growth reflects the return of market confidence in the economy, where corporate Egypt wants to benefit from the expected favorable growth momentum of the economy," the bank said in an emailed statement.
The Egyptian economy grew 4.7% in the last fiscal year and government officials expect growth to quicken to 5% to 5.5% this year and 6% in the 2010-2011 fiscal year.
During the first two months of 2010, CIB maintained loan growth of 7.21% at the time when the overall loan market was up 1.03%, the bank said in the statement.
The Central Bank of Egypt, or CBE, on May 6 kept its key interest rates unchanged for the fifth consecutive time.
The CBE kept its interest rates unchanged twice in 2009 after a run of six straight reductions in borrowing costs.
London-based private equity firm Actis said in July it would pay $244 million for a 9.3% stake in CIB.
CIB was founded in 1975 and has more than 100 branches in Egypt, the bank said on its Web site.
CIB shares closed Wednesday 2.8% higher at EGP73.50 in a slightly positive market.
-By Shereen El Gazzar, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; +20124298286; Shereen.elgazzar@gmail.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
13-05-10 0348GMT
