Dear Stakeholders The bank has succeeded in maintaining its leading position in the Egyptian banking market in 2011 despite the critical political and economic changes Egypt witnessed following the January 25th Revolution, and the subsequent challenges in numerous economic aspects extending to both corporate and retail banking customers. The challenges were not limited to Egypt, but the entire world experienced turbulence through the Arab revolutions known as the Arab Spring, in addition to economic disorder in several European countries.

There is no doubt that 2011 was one of themost difficult years for the Egyptian economy, which is evident in the decrease of the national economy’s growth rate and foreign exchange reserves, the declining foreign direct investment, the continuous reduction of Egypt’s credit rating and the unusual security situation.

However, despite all the challenges, the bank worked to turn these challenges into opportunities that will maximize return on investment. The strength and coherence of the bank’s management and the dedication and determination of all employees succeeded in overcoming these difficulties. In addition, a series of actions in risk management have enabled the bank to create a secure environment for the development of assets.

The bank’s 2011 results reflect the success of these policies and our ability to adapt to economic and political changes taking place in the country. The bank’s loan portfolio increased to reach EGP 36309 million with a growth rate of 12% over the previous year.

Additionally, the rate of NPL stood at 3.04% compared to 3.42% during 2010. It is also worth to mention that the loan to deposit ratio amounted to 70%, making one of the highest in the Egyptian market.

Customer deposits grew to EGP 51710 million, with a growth rate of 3% over the previous year, taking into account that the overall growth of the market according to the Central Bank of Egypt amounted to 3.92%.

Additionally, the bank adopted a flexible policy to rationalize expenditures. Operating expenses have grown by 14%, reaching EGP 1050 million – driven by the restructuring of wages and the opening of 15 new branches to reach a total network of 160 branches by the end of 2011.

As a result, the bank showed a positive growth rate of 11% of net profit compared to 2010, reaching EGP 1490 million.

These positive results were also based on great efforts to develop new products suitable for the Egyptian market and to update internal work procedures at the same time. Several new products were introduced in 2011 such as new internet banking products: customer accounts’ management “SogeCash Net”, secured trade finance “SogeTrade Net” as well as the completion of the second phase of adapting our offers to all type clientèle, which resulted in a new package of special banking solutions under the name “Tamayouz”.

All the achievements above relied on the confidence of our customers have given us, which can be described as not just a relationship between a client and a banking institution, but rather a permanent partnership that aims for continued success. I can also use the phrase of the CEO of one of the major corporate clients praising our bank by saying “It’s an honor to us to show to the massive market that we can do miracles when we stand together in hard crucial times.”

I must also highlight that the spirit of dedication and loyalty among the bank’s employees was not the result of the critical circumstances in 2011, but was the output of an effective human resources policy over the past years. The bank spared no effort in creating and developing an appropriate work environment for all its employees. The bank’s management agreed to a new salary structure that is in line with the position of employees and their belonging to one of the largest financial institutions in Egypt.

Additionally, internal communication has been increased; training plans have been set to enhance their professional level, in addition to the development of the performance appraisal system for employees to motivate them to offer the best in customer service.

The bank’s believes that economic development cannot occur before the development of each individual. The bank’s position in the Egyptian market gives it great responsibility in developing the community, therefore, the bank has participated in a number of social responsibility activities such as the full preparation of one preparatory school in Sohag and funding the MRI unit at Magdi Yacoub Foundation for Heart Research in Aswan, in addition to numerous contributions in the fields of medicine, education and culture, which work to fight poverty and develop rural communities.

The success the bank has achieved in 2011 was well suited for the launch of the new slogan “Building Together Team Spirit”, to reflect our belief that this success was not attributed to one group of individuals, but was mainly due to several groups, all of which contributed to this success including the confidence of shareholders & customers in the bank as well as their confidence in the Board of Directors and employees of the bank.