Rabat – Attijariwafa Bank finalized today the acquisition of 100% of the capital of the Barclays Egypt bank, after obtaining all regulatory approvals required in accordance with the agreement signed with the Egyptian bank on October 4, 2016.
Barclays Bank Egypt is a Cairo-based bank with a workforce of 1,500 employees and a network of 56 branches located in 18 Egyptian cities. In 2016, Barclays Bank Egypt recorded net banking income of MAD 1 billion and a net profit of MAD 361 million.
In the first quarter of 2017, Barclays Bank Egypt achieved a net profit of MAD 140 million, registering a 60 percent growth compared to the first quarter of 2016, due to favorable market conditions for credit growth, improved intermediation margins, and higher yields on treasury bills.
The profitability of assets and equity also increased significantly, with a 4.3 percent return of assets and 30.4 percent return on equity, compared with 3 percent and 22.5 percent respectively in the first quarter of 2016.
This new acquisition enables Attijariwafa Bank to expand its international network into the third largest African economy with a population of 92 million and establish a banking market with prospects for sustained growth. It also paves the way for group development in the Middle East and East Africa.
The establishment of Attijariwafa Bank in Egypt will also contribute to an increasing economic integration between Egypt and the other African subsidiaries of the group.
The financing of this acquisition was anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2016 by halving Attijariwafa Bank’s interest in Wafa Assurance and issuing a perpetual subordinated Tier 1 capital loan.
The combination of all these transactions has a positive impact on Attijariwafa Bank’s solvency ratios and a positive impact on its consolidated financial statements, improving net earnings per share by MAD 2.1 million per share, a 9 percent increase, and a 12 basis points 3 growth of assets returns.
Attijariwafa Bank, named best Moroccan bank in 2016 by the Financial Times, operates in more than 23 countries including Tunisia, Niger, Gabon and Cameroon.
