Fitch Ratings has assigned Egypt’s National Societe Generale Bank (NSGB) a Support rating of 3. The rating reflects the high propensity of support from it major shareholder, Societe Generale (SG), rated AA-, although this might in certain circumstances be constrained by the transfer risk attached to Egypt.
NSGB was incorporated in 1978 as a joint venture between National Bank of Egypt (NBE), the largest public sector bank in Egypt, and SG, the 10th largest in the world by total assets. At end-2002, the bank was 54 percent-owned by SG and 19 percent by NBE, while the remaining 27 percent was free float. NSGB is the third largest Egyptian private sector bank.
The bank provides commercial banking services to most French companies in Egypt, as well as to multinationals and well-managed public and private sector businesses. NSGB has predominately been a corporate bank with limited personal banking activities. However, it has managed to develop its retail banking operations during the past three years by rapidly expanding its branch network and staff numbers.
Fitch's Individual ratings assess how a bank would be viewed if it were entirely independent and could not rely on external support. Its Support ratings deal with the question of whether a bank would receive support from its owners or from the state if it were to get into difficulty. These ratings are not debt ratings but rather, respectively, an assessment of the intrinsic strength of a bank and of any level of outside support that may, or may not, be available to it. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
