Mashreq Bank sees greater opportunity in Egypt since the EGP float in November

Mashreq Bank sees greater opportunity in Egypt since the EGP float in November and the country’s subsequent move to secure a USD 12 bn loan from the IMF, said Jan-Willem Sudmann, group head for international banking at the Dubai-based bank. Even though the Egyptian pound lost 150% of its value against the USD after the central bank floated the currency, Sudmann tells The National that the bank did not see a flood of default from clients with debt in hard currency and that the bank would continue lending to big corporations. His statements come at a time when the bank is looking to boost its international business in countries including China, India, and Egypt to where 30% of operating income comes of them, up from a current 24%. Mashreq is trying to diversify the away from the oil-dependent nations of the GCC which have been hit hard in recent years by low oil prices.