Egypt's state-run United Bank seeks to reduce its portfolio of bad loans to 2.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($281.5 million) by the end of the current year, said its chairman on Sunday. Ashraf El Kady further told Amwal Al Ghad that the current portfolio is estimated at 3 billion pounds. The Central Bank of Egypt owns 99.9 percent of the United Bank. The bank will sell in the coming period part of its real estate assets after settling with some clients in default, El Kady added. The United Bank's total assets currently stand at 27 billion pounds approximately, the banking official stated. The bank has completed the first phase of a scheme to restructure, fill gap in appropriations, reduce bad loans, and achieve profits, in a bid to compete major banks and participate more effectively in supporting the national economy, El Kady said.
