Commercial International Bank (CIB) has built a legacy of shaping Egypt’s banking industry. Hisham Ezz Al-Arab, chief executive officer, reflects on how the past 50 years have positioned CIB to lead the banking sector for the next 50 years through innovation, sustainability and financial inclusion.
As milestones go, being at the forefront of a country’s banking sector for 50 years, and driving economic growth and championing customer-centric innovation, is something to celebrate.
“From our early days to becoming Egypt’s leading private sector bank and the preferred financial partner for over 500 of the nation’s largest corporations, CIB’s journey has been marked by significant achievements and a commitment to building a brighter, more inclusive financial future,” explained Ezz Al-Arab.
Driving Transformation
CIB’s evolution has forged an enviable legacy. After starting out as Chase National Bank in September 1975 and accumulating deposits, loans and foreign investments for just over a decade, the divestment from Chase Manhattan in 1987 spurred rapid growth in net worth, profitability and its branch network.
Innovation soon followed. CIB quickly embraced pioneering opportunities that involved new advances in technology. On the back of early adoption of technology, CIB became the first Egyptian bank to connect to SWIFT. Further, ever since CIB embraced the digital revolution around the mid- to late-1990s, it has set new benchmarks to offer advanced banking solutions. This included launching online banking in 2004 and then mobile banking and the CIB Smart Wallet in 2016, as well as developing Egypt’s first artificial intelligence-led banking chatbot in 2019, and becoming the first domestic private bank to provide Apple Pay. Importantly, CIB was the first bank in the region to establish a data analytics department. All of these developments are proving transformational, not just for CIB, but for the bank’s customers, clients and communities.
“These initiatives solidified our prominent market position and further strengthened our commitment to serving our clients with cutting-edge solutions”
Hisham Ezz Al-Arab, Chief Executive Officer, CIB
Innovation and purpose
He is also proud of CIB’s unwavering dedication to making a positive impact.
This is evident in its sustainable finance achievements, led by a stand-alone department since 2012. The latest success, as of early 2025, was closing the largest non-sovereign social sustainable sukuk issuance in Africa – and a first of its kind in the Egyptian market. In 2021, CIB issued a USD 100 million green bond, the first green bond financing in the private sector. Furthermore, CIB is the first Egyptian bank to have been ranked on the FTSE4Good Sustainability Index.
Inclusivity is also top of the bank’s agenda. This was seen with the launch of the CIB Foundation in 2010, where 1% of profits are dedicated to children’s health, reaching over 7 million patients. .
At the same time, the bank is focused on fostering innovation in education in Egypt, which it does through partnering with leading academic institutions to enhance curricula in alignment with market demands and global trends. In February 2025 CIB held the first sustainable finance for SMEs graduation ceremony, a course designed to equip students with the skills necessary in succeed in the current environment. Aiming to bridge the gender gap in Egypt’s technology sector, this year the bank conducted the the 5th round of its “Women in Tech” program, providing females with hands-on experience in digital banking and information technology.
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