By Ramy Sameeh

Cairo-Mubasher: Mohamed Sherif, Finance Director of Barclays Egypt, said the lender seeks to expand strongly in the Egyptian market in 2015 especially after economic and political stability in the country.

On the sidelines of a press conference today, Sherif told Mubasher that Barclays seeks to boost its presence in Egypt through  an ambitious plan focusing on opening more branches.

“We opened our first branch this year in Cairo Festival City Mall, New Cairo, and the second will be in Mall of Arabia, 6th of October City, with investments of nearly EGP 15 million,” the Finance Director said.

He added that the bank, which owns 56 branches and 85 ATMs, aims to launch two new branches before the end of this year; thus raising the total number of branches to 58.

“We also plan to expand strongly in the corporate finance, retail and SME sectors in Egypt,”  Sherif said.

Barclays targets 42% growth in retail portfolio to EGP 2.6-2.7 billion in 2015, compared with EGP 1.9 billion in 2014.

When asked about the SME portfolio, Sherif said, “We seek to boost the portfolio in the next period. It currently reaches more than EGP 300 million, and we seek to boost it to EGP 500-600 million at the end of this year.”

The official said Barclays recorded strong financial results last year, the highest in the lender’s history, despite the tough conditions  in the country during this period. “We will hold a board meeting on Feb. 25 to approve the budget and announce the final figures after auditing,” he noted.  

Translated by Abdul Maguid Aboshahla

Photo Credit: Arabianeye-Reuters