Emirates NBD is in the race to acquire Barclays Egypt, sources confirmed to Al Mal, and has asked Barclays and the Central Bank of Egypt to be able to conduct due diligence. Emirates NBD had entered Egypt in 2013 by acquiring BNP Paribas’ Egyptian operations. Sources added that three to four more suitors might bid for Barclays-Egypt, including Morocco’s Attijariwafa Bank, which has already appointed UBS as its advisor. It is not clear who is advising Emirates NBD in the transaction or what valuation it set for the bank. Al Mal says Barclays Egypt is expected to be sold at 1.5-2x book.

… For the remainder of its time in Egypt, Barclays will pursue a “very conservative” strategy, executive board member Mohamed Sherif told Al Mal. Barclays Egypt is focusing on preserving capital and its asset base. Sherif said the bank will focus on expanding lending to large corporate clients, finance for SMEs, innovation in service provision, the use of its branch network, and accelerate the roll out of the payroll solutions implemented in partnership with DoPay.