05:11 PM
Tuesday 19 May 2020
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I wrote – Manal Al-Masry:
Informed sources told Masrawy that the Lebanese Bank Audi group decided to suspend the sale of its banking unit in Egypt indefinitely, after the failure of the first Abu Dhabi Bank acquisition of Bank Audi Egypt.
First Abu Dhabi Bank ended negotiations to acquire Bank Audi Egypt, due to the exceptional circumstances resulting from the emerging Corona virus, according to a press release yesterday.
The Lebanese Bank Audi group announced last January that it had entered into exclusive negotiations to sell its operations in Egypt to the first Emirates Bank of Abu Dhabi, as part of managing financial flows that would enable it to comply with the regulatory requirements of the Central Bank of Lebanon.
The first Abu Dhabi Bank conducted a negative test of the return to Banque Misr, in preparation for its purchase after the approval of the Central Bank, before retracting the completion of the deal.
The sources pointed out to Masrawy today, that the repercussions of the emerging corona virus globally contributed to the group’s decision to suspend their exit from the Egyptian market for several reasons.
She explained that among these reasons is a relative improvement in the conditions of Lebanese banks, in addition to the return of the Bank Group, among a small number of Lebanese banks, to pumping the first tranche of its capital requirements.
“Although the sale has not been completed due to the sudden exceptional circumstances caused by the Corona pandemic that led to the end of the negotiations, we thank Abu Dhabi First Bank for its efforts and for constructive discussions,” Tamer Ghazaleh, the chief financial officer of Bank Audi Group, said in a statement yesterday. .
According to the statement, Bank Audi Egypt will continue in its current business and expansion plans in the Egyptian market in accordance with its strategy approved by its board of directors.
Bank Audi will continue to implement its projects in Egypt that are related to the current and future needs of its customers in the Egyptian market, whether in the field of technological development and the provision of electronic products and services such as (Digital Banking – Mobile Wallet – Omni Channels), or in the geographical spread in various governorates through its branches.
The number of Bank Audi Egypt’s branches is currently 55, including 4 branches for Islamic banking services.
The bank will also continue to expand the financing of national and private projects in several fields, including the pharmaceutical industry, food industries, and projects in the fields of technology, communications, and contracting, in support of the country’s economic trends, according to the statement.
The statement quoted Mohamed Badir, CEO of Bank of Egypt, as saying that “Bank Audi Egypt prides itself on being the leader in the Bank Audi group in terms of profitability and exceptional growth rates since its inception and ranking among private banks in the Egyptian market.”
Also read:
Abu Dhabi’s first acquisition of Bank Audi Egypt failed due to SK
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