(Ecofin Agency) - Three months after announcing plans to sell its entire stake in the United Bank, the Central Bank of Egypt is being approached by potential buyers expressing interest in this participative bank. The due diligence process is announced for the end of September 2023.

International financial institutions have expressed interest in acquiring the Egyptian Islamic bank United Bank, the central bank of Egypt discloses without revealing the identities or the exact number of those institutions.  

The potential acquirers will have the opportunity to obtain a complete picture of the financial and fiscal situation of the coveted company during the due diligence process, which will begin by the end of September, according to the Central Bank. On Monday, August 21,  the central bank said it would provide updates on the progress of the United Bank sale process at the appropriate time.

This announcement by the Egyptian banking sector regulator comes three months after it announced plans to sell its entire stake in United Bank. As part of this process, on May 17 the Central Bank appointed British bank Barclays Bank PLC and local investment bank CI Capital Investment as financial advisors.

The sale of United Bank is part of a vast program to sell off the Egyptian state's stakes in some thirty public companies. The initiative, announced on February 8, is aimed at replenishing state coffers and boosting growth in the Egyptian economy. Three banks are among the thirty or so companies involved in this program. They are United Bank, Banque du Caire, and Arab African International Bank.

United Bank, created in June 2006 by the Central Bank of Egypt, is the result of the merger of three banks: The Egyptian United Bank, The Nile Bank, and the Islamic International Bank for Investment and Development. As of December 31, 2022, its assets were estimated at 85 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.7 billion). The bank, present only in Egypt, has a network of sixty-eight branches. 

Chamberline Moko