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.

As Egypt ramps up measures to contain the coronavirus, CIB chairman Hisham Ezz Al-Arab tells Euromoney how the 2011 revolution has left the bank well prepared to deal with the current crisis.

This year Egypt’s Commercial International Bank (CIB) wins best bank for corporate responsibility in the Middle East.

Commercial International Bank has opened a representative office in Ethiopia, implementing its programme of expansion into east Africa.

A merger over a decade ago created what is in 2018 the Middle East’s best bank, Emirates NBD. In 2017, another merger created the region’s biggest bank. So far, the signs suggest FAB will be successful. But in 2018, the bank that wins best bank transformation is Commercial International Bank (CIB). CIB has made an impressive shift over the last decade and a half from its origins as a relatively small corporate-focused bank towards a sustainably profitable institution that offers international investors exposure to the Egyptian consumer story. Hisham Ezz Al Arab has been chairman and managing director throughout this period.

Success in emerging markets demands nimble risk management and deep knowledge. CIB has demonstrated that it has both.

It was a year of some relief for Middle East banking, as the benefits of reform began to be felt and the oil price recovered. Although they remain partly at the mercy of Opec and the US shale energy industry, there was good news for local and international banks, as the government spending crunch eased up and the region turned to international markets to finance its development projects and budget deficits.