Mashreq Bank sees greater opportunity in Egypt since the EGP float in November and the country’s subsequent move to secure a USD 12 bn loan from the IMF, said Jan-Willem Sudmann, group head for international banking at the Dubai-based bank. Even though the Egyptian pound lost 150% of its value against the USD after the central bank floated the currency, Sudmann tells The National that the bank did not see a flood of default from clients with debt in hard currency and that the bank would continue lending to big corporations. His statements come at a time when the bank is looking to boost its international business in countries including China, India, and Egypt to where 30% of operating income comes of them, up from a current 24%. Mashreq is trying to diversify the away from the oil-dependent nations of the GCC which have been hit hard in recent years by low oil prices.