Gulf banks look for acquisitions in Egypt and Turkey to grow

As protests flared again on the streets of Egypt last month, senior bankers from two GCC lenders were inking deals to snap up large banking units in the country.

In the space of a few days, Qatar National Bank (QNB) had agreed to purchase Société Générale's Egyptian operation for US$2 billion (Dh7.34bn), while separately, Emirates NBD struck a deal to buy the Egyptian unit of BNP Paribas for $500 million.

Neither bank was deterred by the latest instability rocking the country, viewing it as just a bump in the road to recovery from the uprising that removed Hosni Mubarak from the presidency in February 2011.

http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/industry-insights/finance/gulf-banks-look-for-acquisitions-in-egypt-and-turkey-to-grow