Egyptian Arab Land Bank seeks partnerships with real estate developers to utilise

The Egyptian Arab Land Bank (EALB) is looking to enter into partnerships with real estate developers to utilise its assets, according to the bank’s Chairperson Medhat Kamar.

In an interview with Daily News Egypt, Kamar revealed the EALB’s plan and strategy in the local market during the coming period. He said that this plan is based on entering the digital banking field, and providing an integrated digital service to customers.

He outlined, during the interview, that customers will be able to carry out transactions through this online service, without the need for visiting a bank branch or physically communicating with employees. Here he explains more.

What do you think of the Egyptian government’s economic reforms and its role in enhancing the economy’s ability to face the crises caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic?

Despite the global challenges facing the world’s economy after the coronavirus pandemic crisis, Egypt has managed to preserve the economic gains that have been achieved since the launch of the economic reform programme.

The Egyptian economy has received a certificate of confidence from many international institutions, mainly the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Credit rating institutions have affirmed Egypt’s rating with a positive outlook, despite the rating decline in many countries of the world.

The IMF praised the Egyptian economy’s performance, and expects growth to reach 2.8% during fiscal year (FY) 2020/21, after the Egyptian economy achieved a growth of 3.6% during 2019/20.

The Fund indicated that the Egyptian economy has performed better than expected despite the coronavirus pandemic. The containment measures taken by the Egyptian authorities, their rational management of the crisis and the elaborate implementation of the Egyptian reform programme have all contributed to limiting the effects of the crisis.

In addition, the Bloomberg Forum for New Economies has chosen Egypt as a model for emerging economies in the region after the coronavirus pandemic. This choice was the result of the economic reforms and opportunities that characterise Egypt, despite the economic challenges at the regional and global levels.

How do you see the Egyptian banking sector’s role during the liberalisation of the exchange rate and the COVID-19 crisis?

The banking sector has played an important role in providing financing and foreign exchange since the liberalisation of the local currency thanks to the strong indicators achieved by the banking sector. This has most notably been seen in the increase in the lending portfolio in the banking market, which increased to about EGP 2.2trn.

Furthermore, there has been an increase in net foreign assets to about EGP 157bn, and a decline in the portfolio of non-performing loans, reaching 3.9% in March 2020 compared to 4.1% in March 2019.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has played a major role during the last stage in mitigating the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. It took many measures and initiatives to address the global health crisis, which strengthened the attractiveness of the Egyptian market.

What are your hopes for Egypt’s new banking law?

The new banking law will help provide more electronic services. It is directed towards providing fully digital banks, in addition to regulating electronic payment services.

This will take place under the legislation of a law that encourages growth in this sector, and maintains the integrity of transactions between the customer and service providers. The law has dedicated an independent entity to regulate payments and activate financial inclusion and digital transformation. All of this comes as part of the plan towards digital transformation and a cashless society.

What is the EALB’s strategy during the coming period?

In addition to our plans in the retail banking field, the EALB is currently…