Egypt’s Commercial International Bank (CIB) has emerged as not only a very good bank for small and medium-sized enterprises but also a key innovator in a sometimes overlooked area of finance.
The Cairo-based lender’s business banking division caters to SMEs with annual revenues ranging from E£1 million to E£200 million ($53,384 to $10.74 million). It serves over 70,000 companies through a network of 250 experienced relationship managers.
In 2021, the division posted an operating profit of E£1.88 billion, up 20% year on year, with deposits up 41% to E£41.7 billion and assets jumping 93%. SME lending as a share of CIB’s total loan book stood at 18.04% at the end of February 2022, against 12.89% 11 months earlier. CIB also introduced its first dedicated contact centre for SMEs, providing a single point of communication and service for all smaller businesses.
Much of what the bank does well is simple good common sense.