Global Finance’s Safest Bank rankings, published annually in November, assess the fiscal health and stability of the largest 1,000 banks in the world. Bank ratings depend heavily on the country’s sovereign rating and Egyptian banks are especially sensitive to the sovereign rating since many of their banks are state owned. After our Safest Bank rankings was published, ratings agencies downgraded Egypt’s sovereign ratings in November 2023 with Moody’s assigning a Caa1 rating, S&P assigning a B– rating and Fitch assigning a B– rating. S&P subsequently upgraded the country’s credit outlook from Stable to Positive in March 2024 after the Central Bank of Egypt implemented currency valuation reform and secured $8 billion in funds from the International Monetary Fund.
Egypt has been struggling to stabilize its economy amid a long-running currency crunch. The county has also had a troubled industrial policy and developed significant trade deficits. To make matters worse, Egypt’s political risk is high as well because of its proximity to the Israel-Palestine conflict with Gaza right next door. These issues—along with high inflation and high unemployment—create ongoing potential for social unrest.
Our proprietary algorithm scores each bank based on its ratings from top global agencies—Fitch, Moody’s, S&P—to identify the safest banks out of the 1,000 largest banks worldwide. Key rankings include Safest Commercial Banks, Safest Emerging Markets Banks, Safest Islamic Banks, and Safest Banks in individual countries and in particular regions. Bank ratings data are valid as of August 2023 and ratings were valid as of August 2023.
National Bank of Egypt
National Bank of Egypt (NBE) the safest bank in Egypt and one of the safest in Africa overall. Founded in 1898 with British capital, NBE bank is one of the oldest commercial banks in Egypt and also the largest. In December 2022, the bank’s financial position was EGP 4.4 trillion and its total assets accounted for 38.6% of total assets of all Egyptian banks. NBE is also owned by the Egyptian government.
Banque Misr
Behind NBE, Banque Misr is the second largest bank in the country with assets of about $120 billion. Its more than 800 branches and 20,000 employees serve a customer base of over 13 million clients. The bank is owned by the Egyptian government.
Commercial International Bank
Commercial International Bank (CIB) is Egypt’s third largest bank and largest private bank, with a 6% share of banking assets. CIB was initially founded as a joint venture between Chase National Bank and NBE in 1975—Chase divested its ownership stake to NBE in 1987. CIB is publicly traded with Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, along with NBE among its top shareholders.
Banque du Caire
Banque du Caire is the sixth largest bank in Egypt with a customer base of more than 3 million. The bank’s comparatively low score is partly due to being rated by only two of the three global rating agencies. The bank is owned by Banque Misr, which is owned by the Egyptian state.
Bank of Alexandria
Bank of Alexandria is one of Egypt’s largest banks, serving over 1.8 million customers. Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo owns 80% of the bank, with the Egyptian state owning the remaining 20%. Bank of Alexandria’s low score is attributed in part to being rated by only one of the three global rating agencies.
