16 August 2015
59.8% year-on-year growth

Al-Sager: NBK-Egypt's solid results confirm its success in strengthening its position in the Egyptian market.

Hassan: the Bank continues delivering strong performance and achieving high growth rates.

Total assets grew by 43.2% YoY to EGP 33.8 billion and customer deposits reached EGP 28.5 billion, up 39.7% YoY

National Bank of Kuwait-Egypt (NBK-E) reported net profits of EGP 284 million for the first half of 2015 compared with EGP 177.7 million for the same period in 2014, growing at 59.8% year-on-year.

Total assets as of end-June 2015 grew 43.2% year-on-year reaching EGP 33.8 billion compared to EGP 23.6 billion as of end-June 2014, while customer deposits grew by 39.7% during the same period to reach EGP 28.5 billion compared to EGP 20.4 billion in 2014.

Isam Al-Sager, Group Chief Executive Officer and NBK-Egypt Chairman, said "The solid growth achieved affirms NBK-Egypt's successful strategy in better-positioning itself in the Egyptian market, offering best-in-class products and services to its customers. This is also a testimony to NBK Group's successful regional expansion strategy where Egypt is one of its main pillars considering the strong outlook and promising growth opportunities that the Egyptian market offers".

Dr. Yasser Hassan, Managing Director of NBK-Egypt highlighted the solid performance of the Bank delivering strong growth in all financial indicators despite the challenging operating environment in Egypt. This strong performance is attributed to the bank's conservative strategy as a member of the NBK Group. This strategy mainly focuses on diversifying the loan portfolio and providing the best financial solutions tailored for clients, reflecting thorough analyses of customer needs and market conditions.

NBK-Egypt (previously Al Watany Bank of Egypt) is a member of National Bank of Kuwait Group and was established in 1980. The Bank has a network of 39 branches situated at strategic locations within the various Egyptian governorates and cities including Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Delta, Sinai, and the Red Sea as well as in industrial areas such as Sixth of October and Tenth of Ramadan cities.

National Bank of Kuwait was founded in 1952 as the first indigenous national bank and financial institution in Kuwait and the GCC and is one of the largest and most prominent Arab banks. NBK continues to enjoy collectively the highest ratings among all banks in the Middle East from the three international rating agencies Moody's, Fitch Ratings and Standard and Poor's. NBK was also named among Global Finance's list of the 50 safest banks in the world for the ninth consecutive time topping all Arab commercial banks and ahead of major international banks. The National Bank of Kuwait Group has a wide presence of branches locally and internationally in the most important financial centers such as London, New York, Geneva, and Singapore in parallel to branches in Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iraq, Turkey and China.

About National Bank of Kuwait (NBK):
NBK was founded in 1952 as the first indigenous bank and the first joint stock company in Kuwait and the Gulf Region. NBK reported profits of USD 894.2 million (KD 261.8 million) for 2014 which was among the highest in the Arab region. NBK's total assets were USD 74.4 billion (KD 21.8 billion) at the end of 2014, while shareholder equity stood at USD 8.6 billion (KD 2.5 billion).

NBK is the largest financial institution in Kuwait with effective market dominance in the commercial banking market and has been consistently awarded the highest credit rating of all banks in the region from Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch Ratings. NBK also stands out in terms of its local and international network, which includes branches, subsidiaries and representative offices in China, Geneva, London, Paris, New York, and Singapore alongside its regional presence in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Turkey, and the UAE.

NBK's Long-Term Rating:

Moody's: Aa3

Fitch Ratings: AA-

Standard & Poor's: A+

For more information, please contact the Media Relations Manager, National Bank of Kuwait Group:
Firas Yassine - firasy@nbk.com
P.O. Box 95, Safat 13001,
Kuwait
Tel: (965) 2259 3218
Fax: (965) 2246 5190
Mob: (965) 9750 6250
www.nbk.com   

© Press Release 2015