Arab Banking Corporation (Bank ABC) on Thursday said that it has completed the merger of its Egyptian business with BLOM Bank Egypt, a deal that will triple the Bahraini lender’s market share in the North African country to create a bank with total assets of $2.5 billion (EGP 67 billion).
The merger follows Bank ABC’s acquisition of a 99.5% stake in BLOM Bank Egypt in August 2021. “BLOM Bank Egypt and Bank ABC Egypt will continue to operate a normal service while work continues to fully integrate their products and services,” Bank ABC said in a bourse filing.
“Combining these two successful local banks gives us the scale and diversity needed to fully capitalise on our growth ambitions,” Saddek Omar El Kaber, Bank ABC Group Chairman said in a statement. The merged entity will have over 65 branches and more than 120 ATMs.
Bank ABC Group opened its doors for business in Egypt in 1999 after buying Egypt Arab African Bank and as of September 2022, the lender had total assets of $34.8 billion. “With this merger, our increased size, international capabilities and combined talent enable us to offer unparalleled banking experience to the Egyptian market and become a bank of choice in the country,” Amr Tharwat, Bank ABC Egypt managing director & CEO said in the statement.
The completion of the merger follows the rebranding of First Abu Dhabi Bank’s Egyptian unit to ‘FABMISR’ after the UAE’s biggest lender completed its acquisition of Bank Audi Egypt.
