Fitch Affirms CIB and Banque du Caire at B as CIB Earns 12.1 Percent on Risk-Weighted Assets
Fitch Ratings affirmed Commercial International Bank (CIB) and Banque du Caire at B with a Stable Outlook on 21 October. Its CIB commentary ranks the bank’s core profitability measure the highest among the Egyptian banks it rates. CIB’s annualised operating profit came to 12.1 percent of risk-weighted assets in the first half of 2026. Banque du Caire lifted the same measure to 7.7 percent, from 6.5 percent a year earlier.
The two decisions follow the agency’s affirmation of National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr at B on 20 October, which The Edge covered separately. That makes four Egyptian banks reviewed in two days, on our count. On 19 October, Moody’s Ratings had raised the long-term deposit ratings of all four to B3 from Caa1, in an action covering five Egyptian banks, and kept the outlook positive.
CIB: Record Low Impaired Loans and Margins Well Above the Sector
CIB’s Stage 3 ratio, the share of its loans classed as impaired, fell to a record low of 1.7 percent at the end of June. It was 3.4 percent at end-2024. The ratio has therefore halved in 18 months, on our calculation. Strong loan growth, large settlements in 2025 and few new impairments helped. The agency expects the ratio to stay at 1.5 percent in 2026 and 2027.
The Stage 2 ratio also reached a record low, at 16 percent. That is 4 points below end-2025, on our calculation. Specific reserves covered 110 percent of Stage 3 loans, the highest among rated peers. Counting all reserves, cover was 371 percent.
Margins set CIB apart. Its net interest margin was 8.8 percent in the first half, against a sector average of 4.9 percent. That is 3.9 points wider, or 1.8 times the sector, on our calculation. Operating profit of 12.1 percent of risk-weighted assets compares with 13.8 percent in 2025. The 2025 figure included a one-off provision release tied to a model recalibration.
Fitch expects the return to remain high, at an estimated 11.5 percent in 2026 and 11.3 percent in 2027. Before impairments, operating profit equalled 19 percent of average gross loans in the first half. That is the cushion the bank earns before any loan loss reaches its capital.
CIB Against the Egyptian Banking Sector
| Measure | CIB | Sector |
|---|---|---|
| Net interest margin | 8.8% | 4.9% |
| CET1 ratio | 24.4% | 14.7% |
| Loans/deposits | 49% | 69% |
CIB net interest margin for the first half of 2026 and CET1 ratio at end-June 2026; loans/deposits ratios and sector averages as given in the agency’s CIB commentary of 21 October 2026. CET1 is common equity Tier 1 capital.
CIB: Capital Well Above the Sector and Deposit-Led Funding
CIB’s common equity Tier 1 ratio rose to 24.4 percent at end-June, from 23 percent at end-2025. That is a gain of 1.4 points in six months, on our calculation. It leaves the ratio 9.7 points above the 14.7 percent sector average and 3.4 times the 7.25 percent regulatory minimum, again on our calculation.
The bank lends out less than half of its deposits, on our calculation. Its loans equalled 49 percent of deposits, 20 points under the sector’s 69 percent, on our calculation. In foreign currency the ratio was 26 percent. Customer deposits made up 94 percent of non-equity funding.
Retail customers supplied 57 percent of deposits. Current and savings accounts made up 62 percent, the highest share among rated peers. CIB is Egypt’s third-largest bank and its largest private one, serving more than 2.5 million customers. It holds 8 percent of system deposits but 5.5 percent of loans, a gap of 2.5 points, on our calculation.
Banque du Caire: Capital Ratio Reaches 18.7 Percent
Banque du Caire’s common equity Tier 1 ratio rose to 18.7 percent at end-June 2026. It was 12.9 percent at end-2024, so it has gained 5.8 points, on our calculation. Most of the gain came from retained 2025 earnings, slow growth in risk-weighted assets and the sale of its stake in African Export-Import Bank. The ratio now sits 4.0 points above the 14.7 percent sector average in the CIB commentary, on our calculation. The agency expects it to ease to 17.5 percent by end-2027, as dividends rise and risk-weighted assets grow faster.
Wider margins and lower impairment charges lifted operating profit by 1.2 points of risk-weighted assets over the year, on our calculation. The agency expects that measure to peak in 2026. It judges the bank less exposed to falling rates than its domestic peers, because it relies more on fixed-rate retail lending.
Retail is the franchise. The bank is Egypt’s sixth-largest by assets, with a 2.3 percent share at end-2025. Its 7.3 percent share of retail lending is 3.2 times that asset share, on our calculation. It has the country’s third-largest customer base, at more than 3 million. Retail loans made up 42 percent of its book at end-June.
Funding has shifted toward current and savings accounts. These accounts reached 53 percent of deposits at end-June, from 33 percent at end-2022. That is a rise of 20 points, on our calculation. Retail deposits made up 59 percent of the total. Cash and net interbank assets covered 26 percent of customer deposits.
The bank’s Government Support Rating of b matches the sovereign. Capital support has totalled 23.3 billion Egyptian pounds since 2016, equal to 31 percent of its total regulatory capital at end-June. The state owns the bank in full, indirectly through Banque Misr. The agency expects the government to remain the majority shareholder through Banque Misr after the initial public offering.
The Stage 3 ratio was broadly stable at 4 percent, with reserves covering 176 percent of those loans. The Stage 2 ratio rose to 20 percent at end-June from 18 percent at end-2025.
How the Four Affirmed Banks Compare
Egypt’s Four Affirmed Banks, 20 and 21 October
| Bank | System assets | CET1 ratio | Op. profit/RWAs |
|---|---|---|---|
| CIB | 6% | 24.4% | 12.1% |
| Banque du Caire | 2.3% | 18.7% | 7.7% |
| National Bank of Egypt | 38% | 10.6% | 6.5% |
| Banque Misr | 20% | 10.7% | 5.7% |
From the agency’s four commentaries of 20 and 21 October 2026, all rated B with a Stable Outlook. CIB and Banque du Caire capital ratios are at end-June 2026 and their operating profit ratios for the first half of 2026; CIB’s asset share is at end-June 2026. All National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr figures, and Banque du Caire’s asset share, are for end-2025 or the year 2025. RWAs are risk-weighted assets.
The two smaller banks carry the highest capital ratios in the table. CIB’s core ratio is 13.8 points above National Bank of Egypt’s, on our calculation, though the dates differ by six months. CIB accounted for 6 percent of Egyptian banking-system assets at end-June 2026, according to the agency. Banque du Caire’s share was 2.3 percent at end-2025.
CIB’s operating return is 1.6 times Banque du Caire’s for the same half year, on our calculation.
All four ratings sit at the sovereign’s level, which the agency affirmed at B on 8 October. At CIB, government securities made up 33 percent of assets at end-June, central bank balances 10 percent and public-sector lending 7 percent. That adds up to 50 percent, on our sum. The agency puts the bank’s total sovereign and public-sector exposure at 3.8 times core capital at end-June, from 4.3 times at end-2025. Banque du Caire’s sovereign exposure was 3.4 times core capital at end-2025. At CIB, an upgrade would require a sovereign upgrade, and a sovereign downgrade would lead to a downgrade of the bank.
Why it matters: CIB earns the highest operating profit relative to risk-weighted assets among the Egyptian banks the agency rates. It pairs that with a core capital ratio above 24 percent. Banque du Caire has lifted its own ratio by 5.8 points since end-2024, on our calculation, ahead of its initial public offering. Both banks already stand level with Egypt’s B rating, and a sovereign upgrade is the route to a higher one for CIB.
Outlook: The agency puts Egypt’s real GDP growth at 5.1 percent in the fiscal year to June 2026 and expects 4.7 percent in fiscal 2027. It sees inflation at 12.3 percent in fiscal 2027, slowing to below 10 percent in fiscal 2028. The banking sector’s net foreign assets stood at 12.5 billion dollars in August, according to the agency’s bank commentaries. CIB’s impaired loans ratio is expected to remain at 1.5 percent in 2026 and 2027. Moody’s outlook on the four banks’ deposit ratings remains positive.
Sources: Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Ratings, The Edge.
