Egypt’s banks have emerged from a difficult decade with their appetite for expansion undimmed. 

Egypt's banks enjoy good capital adequacy levels and low loan default rates. Many are eyeing the small business sector and an underbanked populace.

The IMF is ready to launch the next tranche of a $12bn loan package for Egypt, following government attempts to push through economic reforms. 

Historically, women have been widely employed in Egypt's banks, with some now reaching top-level posts, including that of CEO. 

Egypt’s Commercial International Bank is one of the Middle East and north Africa region's star performers when it comes to returns on assets and capital. James King speaks to the bank's managing director, Hisham Ezz Al-Arab, to discover the secret behind its success.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has pushed through business-friendly reforms that would have been unthinkable in Egypt a few years ago, including cutting fuel subsidies. The results have been impressive, bringing praise from the IMF. So is the optimism prevailing in the country justified? James King reports.

Egypt’s banks are throwing their weight behind extending financial inclusion to small and micro businesses, as well as the country's wider population as part of the national Vision 2030 strategy, helped by changes to the bankruptcy system and hopes of lower interest rates. James King reports.

Hala El Said, Egypt’s minister of planning and administrative reform, talks to James King about government strategies to cut unemployment through greater private sector involvement and the decentralisation of investment to the governorates. 

Political unrest, high public debt and a drop in tourism have hit Egypt’s fortunes in recent years. But as a successful $4bn debt-raising deal has shown, investor appetite is recovering. Edward Russell-Walling spoke to the team from joint lead manager Citi.