BLOM Bank targets to increase market share in Egypt

CAIRO – 29 March 2018: Chairman of BLOM Bank Saad Azhari said that the bank’s Egyptian unit allocates 10 percent of the consolidated profit and business volume of the group, emphasizing the importance of the Egyptian market to the group.

Azhari added in a press conference that the bank holds about 1 percent of the total domestic market, pointing out that the bank plans to increase this share through operations ranging between 1.5-2 percent over the next five years.

He clarified that the idea of expansion through the acquisition of other banks isn’t offered in the Egyptian market.

Azhari explained that the acquisition of HSBC’s branches in Lebanon was a special case because it represented a large addition to the bank in the field of foreign trade, adding that the acquisition included the branches, employees and the bank's portfolio of foreign trade financing.

For his part, Chief Executive Officer of BLOM Egypt Mohamed Ozalb said that the Lebanese group is keen to provide all support to its unit in Egypt through the detention of profits to support expansion plans and increase deployment.

The bank has obtained the approval of the General Assembly to increase paid up capital from LE 1.7 billion to LE 2 billion of retained earnings, according to Ozalb.

He clarified that the bank's capital adequacy ratio reached 15.9 percent at the end of 2017, compared to 13.85 percent at the end of 2016.

The bank achieved a net profit of LE 702 million in 2017 on a year-on-year basis, marking a 30 percent increase, the press release remarked.

BLOM bank is a Lebanese bank established in 1951. Its business operations are based on a universal banking model that includes: commercial banking, corporate banking, private banking, investment banking, asset management, retail banking, Islamic banking, brokerage services, and insurance products and services.

BLOM Bank Egypt is a commercial bank offering banking and financial services, with a paid up capital of LE 1700 Million.

It has a branch network of 38 branches covering Greater Cairo, Alexandria, Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh, Damietta, Port Said, Mansoura, Ismailia, Tanta, El-suez, El Dakahlia, and EL Minya.