Good afternoon, wonderful people. It’s been a slowish start to the news day, but we expect things to pick up as the afternoon wears on. And we’re working with big grins on our faces after Saudi’s shock 2-1 victory against Argentina in the first of today’s World Cup matches.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

Hisham Ezz Al Arab is back at CIB: Ezz Al Arab (LinkedIn) has returned to CIB’s board of directors as a non-executive director, on the recommendation of the board and following the approval of the central bank yesterday, according to a CIB statement. Ezz Al Arab led CIB to its position as Egypt’s leading home-grown bank in everything from profitability to sustainability as its chairman and managing director between 2002 and 2020, before stepping down after a central bank audit said it found regulatory, compliance and governance concerns. He was appointed an adviser to CBE governor Hassan Abdallah over the summer, after Abdallah took over the reins at the central bank from Tarek Amer.

CIB shares were up 1.47% to close at EGP 38.05 on the news.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The business press still can’t tear its gaze from the meltdown at FTX. One-time crypto darling Sam Bankman-Fried’s failed firm FTX will appear in Delaware bankruptcy court later on today, the Wall Street Journal reports. Management at the defunct firm has located more assets at the company ahead of the court hearing, bringing the running tally to USD 1.24 bn, according to the Financial Times. And Reuters is reporting that the company, Bankman-Fried’s parents, and senior executives built a USD 121 mn property portfolio in the Bahamas before it all went belly up.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• Developers interested in bidding for a piece of the Madbouly government’s multi-bn USD water desalination program can start handing in pre-qualification files starting on Thursday.
• Employees at Beltone SME have reportedly resigned en masse in opposition to a restructuring being carried out by parent company Beltone Financial.
• Honoris United Universities’ acquisition of Merit University in New Sohag City has fallen through after the two sides failed to reach an agreement

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The US and Russia will hold nuclear talks in Cairo next week: Washington and Moscow will discuss resuming mutual nuclear inspections during week-long talks from Tuesday, 29 November through to 6 December, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, according to CNN.

The deadline to apply for the Chicago Booth Executive Program in El Gouna is Sunday, 27 November. The two-week program, which kicks off in March 2023, offers executives from Egyptian public and private sector the skills to help them “become a better leader for your organization and support Egypt’s growth in the years ahead.”

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect temperatures to rise to 25°C during the day tomorrow before falling to 15°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us.