HSBC Egypt remains committed to Egypt for the long term even as it deliberates the fate of its retail business here, HSBC Middle East CEO Selim Kervanci and HSBC Egypt CEO Todd Wilcox told EnterpriseAM in an extended interview in Cairo earlier this month.

“HSBC is very committed to Egypt as a strategic market in which we are squarely focused on the needs of our corporate and investment banking clients,” Wilcox said. “We conveyed that message to the finance minister and the central bank governor when we met [in mid-February 2026].”

Connecting Egypt to global prospects — and vice versa — is good business for HSBC, Wilcox said, noting that the bank regularly organizes roadshows and reverse roadshows that put Egypt on the map with global clients and investors from China, Singapore, the UK, and beyond. Multinationals appreciate that reach too: “I was recently in Switzerland for meetings, and a very large Swiss multinational that we bank in multiple jurisdictions made clear that one reason it stays with HSBC globally despite being courted by many other institutions is that they can bank with us here in Egypt — Egypt is a key market for them.”

HSBC put its retail business here in Egypt in strategic review last October. A report in thedomestic press late on Saturday suggested that institutions including our friends at CIB and Emirates NBD, as well as QNB Al Ahli and at least one other institution, have begun due diligence on HSBC Egypt’s retail portfolio as a prelude to a sale.

Wilcox and Kervanci declined to speculate this earlier month on whether — or when — the bank would push ahead with a sale of its retail accounts here.

Why would HSBC sell its retail bank in Egypt, but continue to court commercial and investment banking clients? HSBC Group is positioning the review of its retail operations in Egypt as part of its “ongoing simplification globally.” It has been pulling back from retail around the world, opting to focus in most markets on corporate and institutional banking as well as its private banking or “wealth” business. That process got underway in mid-2023, when then-CFO Georges Elhedery put 12 countries on an “ exit watchlist ” — and accelerated after Elhedery became CEO of the global bank in 2024 with a strategy to streamline and drive growth in core markets, including Asia and the Middle East.

A big part of that drive is to focus on “internationally minded clients,” Wilcox said, pointing to the influx of Chinese and Turkish manufacturers attracted by “Egypt’s clear competitive advantages.” HSBC Egypt bankers report that appetite has been even stronger so far this year than in 2025.

HSBC Middle East Holdings Chairman Samir Assaf was also in Cairo earlier this month for a meeting of the bank’s Middle East board. After meeting with the teams at the Finance Ministry and CBE, he noted, “We remain committed to Egypt as a strategic market as we continue to invest in our people and strengthen our capabilities to support our customers as they navigate a dynamic global environment.”

HSBC by the numbers: The bank opened here in 1982 as the Hong Kong Egypt Bank and today has 4.2k staff (between the bank and its global service center) and 53 branches. In addition to the retail, corporate, and investment banking footprints, Egypt is also home to an HSBC global service center that provides support to the bank’s global operations.

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