Our friends at HSBC Egypt disclosed last summer that they had paid a fine imposed by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). HSBC Egypt’s financials for 1H 2025 (pdf) show a charge of a little under EGP 1.39 bn. Asked for comment yesterday, a spokesperson told us, “We have already made significant progress in implementing the agreed corrective actions to ensure our practices meet the expectations of the Central Bank of Egypt.” The fine has gotten ink in the media in the past couple of days.

The fine underscores that the central bank is shifting its approach to regulation, a source with first-hand knowledge of the CBE’s thinking tells us. Until recently, the CBE typically deployed smaller fines as it looked to “correct practices throughout the industry” in a more low-key way.

Today, the regulator is being more muscular in imposing monetary penalties. Industry insiders have previously told us the CBE is stepping up its scrutiny of credit governance as it prepares for banks to go back to lending. Interest rates are on a declining path and could hit a point in 2025 when companies start to test the waters with borrowing to fund capex.

The central bank imposed an EGP 1 bn fine on FAB Misr last fall and ordered the transfer of a senior credit officer. NBK Egypt was fined a lesser amount in the same incident in which the CBE found that three banks had inappropriately extended credit to financial services giant Beltone Holding. Bankers we spoke with at the time said the fine was calculated to send a message to the industry.

The fine HSBC Egypt paid was unrelated and centered on disagreements over how the bank was reporting its loan portfolio. No depositor or shareholder money was at risk, we’re told.

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