Sustainability, Green Finance Among Key Strategic Pillars of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank – Egypt: CEO

Daily News Egypt

16-02-2025

Ihab ElSewerky, CEO and Managing Director of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Egypt confirmed that sustainability and green finance are among the most important strategic pillars of the bank. The bank implements a sustainability plan that aligns with the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Group's strategy in the UAE.
ElSewerky explained that this plan is based on three main pillars. The first is the customers, where the bank supports their transition to a green economy by offering innovative banking products, entering into partnerships with international organizations to provide them with technical support, and expanding financing for their sustainable projects. The second pillar focuses on society, through supporting and financing sustainable community projects and innovative entrepreneurs. The third pillar is the bank's internal operations, where the use of artificial intelligence and robotics in internal processes helps reduce the carbon footprint, enhance customer service levels, and improve energy efficiency and resource use, contributing to a positive environmental impact.
Green Finance for Corporates
ElSewerky noted that the bank has launched the first sustainable account in Egypt, specifically designed for businesses to manage their funds. Additionally, the bank introduced the Green Facility Program for corporate financing and cooperated with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. These actions reflect the bank's commitment to activating international partnerships at this level to expand its sustainable finance portfolio and support its SME clients, believing that technical support is an essential catalyst to improve their efficiency, enhance competitiveness, and help them expand into new markets.
Supporting the National Economy
ElSewerky stated that Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Egypt successfully contributed to several syndicated loans supporting the national economy and driving the growth plans of its clients. He pointed out that the syndicated loan portfolio reached EGP 6.4bn by the end of 2024,
with significant activity in financing major projects. As a result, the bank achieved a 52% increase in its corporate financing portfolio compared to the previous year, and a 29% growth in corporate deposits for the same period.
Retail Banking
The retail banking sector also achieved significant growth, with the bank reaching a 36% increase in its customer base, driven by strong activity in banking services and products. The bank witnessed a 61% rise in individual deposits through offering a variety of accounts and savings instruments with competitive returns tailored to customer segments. The launch of the 'Double Your Money' campaign for savings accounts, supported by monthly cash prizes and a grand prize at the end of the competition under the supervision of the Ministry of Social Solidarity, contributed to a 43% increase in account balances compared to the previous year and attracted many new customers.
According to ElSewerky, the bank recorded a 35% increase in individual loan balances and a 98% rise in the credit card portfolio by the end of 2024, compared to the previous year. He also emphasized that the bank has formed strategic partnerships to serve its individual clients and continues to offer innovative and comprehensive solutions that meet their needs and aspirations, aiming to become their preferred bank.
Among these partnerships is an exclusive strategic agreement with VISA a world leader in digital payments, enabling the bank to continue offering innovative and secure payment solutions, giving customers more freedom and control over their payments. Additionally, the bank renewed its strategic partnership with Allianz Life Insurance – Egypt, which contributes to offering comprehensive insurance services and innovative value-added solutions to achieve customer satisfaction and strengthen the bank's position in the Egyptian market.
Digital Services
In terms of digital services, ElSewerky mentioned that the bank continues to implement its strategy for development and innovation to enhance the customer banking experience through alternative channels that align with global standards. He pointed out that the bank led the way in offering account opening services via a mobile app, which received the highest customer satisfaction ratings, increasing the number of electronic channel users to 72,000 by the end of 2024, a 33% increase compared to the previous year.
Business Results
Regarding business results and performance indicators at the end of 2024, ElSewerky stated that the bank achieved growth in all lines of business, recording a leap in net profits to EGP 4.27bn, reflecting a 109% increase compared to the previous year.
He noted that this profit surge comes in parallel with the increase in total assets, which reached EGP 134.157bn, an increase of 37%, and the growth of lending and financing portfolios to EGP 56.026bn and deposits to EGP 116.504bn, an increase of 48% and 35% respectively, compared to the previous year. The total investment portfolio reached EGP 61.3bn, an increase of 27% over the same period.
The bank also achieved a 48% increase in the return on average equity which reaches 38%, and a 54% growth in the return on average assets, which reaches 3.7%. Moreover, the bank managed to maintain efficiency and risk ratios that align with this growth.
Ihab ElSewerky
According to ElSewerky, these indicators reflect exceptional performance and the bank's success in executing its growth strategy and increasing its market share, while adhering to a commitment to excellence in customer service. The bank continues to play a vital role in supporting the national economy, applying best corporate governance practices, and integrating sustainability standards into its operations and plans. He added that these efforts led to the bank receiving numerous prestigious awards from prominent International financial institutions.
ElSewerky noted that since the brand's launch in 2020, the bank has achieved remarkable growth and distinguished itself as the best new bank, excelling in providing services, products, and digital innovations that meet customer needs, while adhering to best governance practices and integrating sustainability standards into its strategy.
He added, 'We are also pleased to contribute to supporting the national economy and community development by financing major and green projects and participating in financial inclusion and corporate social responsibility initiatives. These achievements affirm the strength of our strategy, which is based on customer satisfaction as a key driver of growth, providing an outstanding banking experience according to the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Group's business model in the UAE.'
Security Standards
ElSewerky stated that as part of the bank's strong commitment to applying the highest security standards and enhancing its dedication to providing an exceptional banking experience to achieve customer trust and satisfaction, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank has obtained the latest version of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS), a globally recognized standard designed to ensure a secure environment for entities that process, store, or transmit credit card information, minimizing the risks of data breaches and protecting the bank and its customers.
In an important step to accelerate the bank's digital transformation agenda, ElSewerky highlighted the bank's agreement with 'Network International,' a leading provider of digital commerce services in the Middle East and Africa, to use the 'FICO Falcon' fraud detection platform. This collaboration supports the bank's digital transformation strategy by providing the latest payment processing capabilities and fraud detection using artificial intelligence and machine learning analytics from FICO's leading platform in the sector.
23 Awards
ElSewerky pointed out that Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank – Egypt was crowned with several prestigious awards from renowned financial institutions in 2024, in recognition of its outstanding performance at all levels. The bank received 23 awards in areas such as advanced services and products, digital transformation, innovation in digital services, best digital security frameworks, fraud detection, corporate governance, financial inclusion, and sustainable development. The bank also won the 'Best New Bank' award from World Business Outlook and International Business Magazine, in recognition of its strong financial performance indicators and sustainable growth, as well as the 'Emerging Financial Institution' award from Global Brands.
The bank commenced 2025 by receiving the 'Top Employer' award from the global TOP EMPLOYER organization, a culmination of its ongoing efforts over the past years to create an outstanding work environment.
According to ElSewerky, this certification is an acknowledgement of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank – Egypt's status as a trusted employer, its pivotal role in providing an inclusive work environment that prioritizes its employees, and its commitment to supporting their needs and professional development to enable them to achieve excellence. This also reflects the bank's commitment to adopting leading human resources strategies and practices as an integral part of its broader strategy to implement the best corporate governance practices and achieve its vision of being the most preferred bank for its customers.