Three banks in Egypt face the threat of downgrade - The National

The ratings agency Standard & Poor's yesterday said three of Egypt's biggest banks could be in for a downgrade.

The news came days after S&P said Egypt's long-term debt was on watch for a possible cut as political and economic turmoil in the aftermath of the country's revolution took its toll.

Commercial International Bank (CIB), the largest private-sector lender in the country, and two of the country's largest domestic banks, National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and Banque Misr were placed on credit watch with negative implications because they faced "significant sovereign risk" as political tensions escalate, the ratings agency said.

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