Moody's downgrades ratings of 5 Egyptian banks with stable outlook

CAIRO – 11 October 2023: Moody's lowered the long-term deposit ratings of five Egyptian banks by one notch, with a stable outlook.

 

This rating action is the second of the year, coinciding with the downgrade of Egypt's sovereign credit rating last Thursday.

 

According to Moody's report, the deposit ratings of Banque Misr, National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Banque du Caire, Commercial International Bank (CIB), and Bank of Alexandria were lowered to Caa1 from B3, and Bank of Alexandria’s rating was lowered to B3 from B2.

 

Moody's credit rating agency announced earlier in October that it had downgraded Egypt's credit rating from B3 to CAA1, with a stable outlook.

 

Moody's stated that the downgrade reflects the deteriorating ability of the Egyptian government to manage its debt and continued foreign currency shortages in the face of rising external debt service payments over the next two years, amid growing constraints on policy options to rebalance the economy without exacerbating social risks.