Egyptian banks face continued pressure during 2021: Fitch

Egyptian banks face continued pressure during 2021: Fitch

Fitch Ratings- SolvencyIIWire- via Flickr







CAIRO – 8 April 2021: “Egyptian banks face asset-quality deterioration and continued pressure on profitability through 2021 amid the economic fallout of the pandemic,” Fitch Ratings said Thursdsy in a new report.

 

The report added that Capitalization remains a credit weakness and foreign-currency liquidity is still vulnerable to external shocks, clarifying that on the other hand, the sector could benefit from growth and revenue opportunities, with Egypt's lockdowns less stringent than those in many jurisdictions, and consumer consumption and public investment more resilient.

 

It stated that the sector average Stage 3 loans ratio was stable at 3.4% at end-3Q20, supported by the Central Bank of Egypt's (CBE) significant interest rate cuts to boost lending, a six-month deferral of loan repayments and flexibility on how banks classify loans, believing that these measures have delayed rather than prevented asset-quality deterioration.

 

Fitch expected the sector average