The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is extending, for the first time in Egypt and the southern and eastern Mediterranean region, an unfunded portfolio risk-sharing facility for up to €35 million to QNB to support on-lending to Egyptian enterprises.

The EBRD’s facility will cover up to 50 per cent of credit risk on new financing of up to €70 million originated by QNB for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt. The facility offers an innovative solution to boost on-lending to local SMEs and reduce the financing gap that the segment faces.

The facility is supported by a guarantee provided by the European Union (EU) under the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+), which enhances financing and investment operations in partner countries outside of Europe.

In addition, the Bank will roll out a pilot EBRD climate-risk assessment tool in Egypt, tailored to QNB. The tool and the associated technical cooperation will help QNB expand its climate-risk assessment toolkit to better evaluate, assess and monitor the climate-related risks in the bank’s portfolio, in line with international best practice.

The agreement was signed by Jürgen Rigterink, EBRD First Vice President, and Mohamed Bedeir, QNB-Egypt Chief Executive Officer.

QNB Egypt, an EBRD partner bank since 2015, is incorporated in Egypt and listed on the Egyptian stock exchange. QNB Egypt is the fourth-largest commercial bank and second-largest private bank in Egypt as of end of 2023.

Egypt is a founding member of the EBRD. Since the start of its operations there in 2012, the Bank has invested €12.5 billion in 187 projects in the country. The EBRD’s areas of investment in Egypt include the financial sector, agribusiness, and manufacturing and services, as well as infrastructure projects such as power, municipal water and wastewater services, and contributions to the upgrade of transport services‎.