Fitch Ratings
Fitch lowered its long-term issuer default rating for state-owned National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr and Banque Du Caire, as well as Commercial International Bank (CIB)
This rating is attributed to increased risks to external financing, macroeconomic stability, and high government debt.
The banking sector saw a record net foreign liability position of $14 billion at the end of March 2023, with Fitch writing that “banks' ability to build up foreign assets was hampered by tight FC liquidity and the sovereign's high gross external financing requirements”
Egypt’s Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said Fitch’s decision to downgrade Egypt to B from B+ comes amid the complex global challenges of the Ukraine war, global inflation wave, and rise in interests.
This came in a report published by the Cabinet's Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) on Tuesday.
This came during the follow-up of the Information and Decision Support Center of the cabinet (IDSC) on various international reports that deal with Egyptian affairs or fall within the scope of its interest.
The Fitch agency found out that foreign energy and equipment companies have a greater chance to invest in Egypt in the renewable energy plans.
Egypt’s Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said Egypt has been the only country in the Middle East and Africa to retain the confidence of the three international assessment institutions of Fitch Ratings, S&P Global Ratings, and Moody’s.
IDSC stated, in a statement, Sunday that Egypt is likely to depend mainly on thermal energy in the current period until 2030, and the energy generated from natural gas will constitute the majority of thermal energy generated during the current time.
Fitch has also affirmed National Bank of Egypt (UK) Ltd's (NBEUK) Long-Term IDR at 'B+' with Stable Outlook and Support Rating at '4'. NBEUK is a wholly owned subsidiary of NBE. A full list of rating actions is below.
Fitch saw that pressures on the domestic operating environment have eased since end-3Q20, moderating downside risks to Egyptian banks' credit profiles. This reflects improving foreign-currency (FC) liquidity, with the banking sector's net foreign assets (NFAs) reaching $3.5 billion at end-April 2021.
A depletion of foreign exchange reserves, weak monetary policy credibility, negative real interest rates, and a sizable current account deficit, have exacerbated external financing risks.
IMF financing will provide some support for Egypt's foreign reserves and portfolio flows may be stabilizing.
“Egypt has made further progress in implementing economic and fiscal reforms, which are driving improved macroeconomic stability, fiscal consolidation and stronger external finances.”
Fitch forecasted general government debt/GDP to fall to 93 percent in FY18 from a peak of 103 percent in FY17, marking an inflection point in the strong upward trend since the 2011 revolution.
Michigan is likely to be the state most hurt by changes to the NAFTA trade agreement, according to a Fitch Ratings report, as Trump renewed threats to scrap the deal.
Travel and tourism continues to be a bright spot within the leisure sector, according to Fitch Ratings.
The bank enjoys "an excellent level of liquidity" and should benefit from easy access to capital markets, Fitch said.
Fitch expected the budget deficit to stand at 9.3 percent of GDP, higher than the 9.1 percent projected by the government.
Egypt's new fiscal reforms represented a continued commitment to fiscal consolidation and economic reform, Fitch Ratings said in a Wednesday statement.
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