| Industry | Banking |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Cairo, Egypt |
| Key people | Chairman: Shaikha Khaled El Bahr Managing Director: Yasser Hassan[1] |
| Products | Financial Services |
| Website | AWB Official Website |
The Al Watany Bank of Egypt is an Egyptian bank, and a subsidiary of the National Bank of Kuwait.
The Al Watany Bank of Egypt was founded in May 1980 by several Egyptian businessmen as a joint Stock Company under the provisions of Law 43/1974 with two branches in Cairo.[2] It grew in a promising economy and gradually established a reputation as the leading bank for small and medium-size businesses within the Egyptian market.[2]
In August 2007, the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) acquired a 51% stake in Al Watany for US $516 million.[3][4] The offer was extended to other shareholders and by October 2007, the National Bank of Kuwait had acquired a total of 93.77% stake in the bank for a cost of over US $900 million by October 2007.[4] The purchase marked the entry of the National Bank of Kuwait into the Egyptian market for the first time and represented a significant stage in the bank's strategy of expansion in the region.[5] The bank intended to triple the number of branches in five years and turn Al Watnany into Egypt's third largest retail bank.[6]
The Al Watany Bank of Egypt made a net profit of 243.6 million Egyptian pounds (US $44.5 million) in 2007, a 157% increase compared to 2006.[7][8] It posted a profit of 290.6 million Egyptian pounds for the first nine months of 2008, a 29.2 percent growth compared to the same period in the previous year.[9] Its assets were valued at 14.6025 billion Egyptian pounds at the end of the third quarter of 2008.[9]
The bank's authorized and paid capital was 1 billion Egyptian Pounds distributed on 100 million shares with a par value of 10 Egyptian Pounds each. It has 26 branches located across Egypt from Cairo and Alexandria to Giza, Mansoura and Sohag.