Egyptian veteran banker Hisham Ezz Al-Arab returns for a second stint as chairman of the Commercial International Bank (CIB Egypt), sources with knowledge told Al Arabiya TV on Thursday.
Ezz Al-Arab, who served as chairman of the CIB since 2002 until October 2020, had been considered one of the top bankers in Egypt and in the Arab world. Under his leadership, CIB achieved unprecedented successes.
Last August, Egypt’s Central Bank Governor Hassan Abdalla appointed Ezz Al-Arab as his adviser. Later in November, Ezz Al-Arab stepped down from the central bank governor aide position.
In 2016, he was recognised by Euromoney for his “Outstanding Contribution to Financial Services in the Middle East” and was EMEA Finance’s “Best CEO in Egypt and Africa” at the magazine’s 2014 Banking Awards.
In July 2017, under his leadership – the CIB was named the World’s Best Bank in the Emerging Markets by Euromoney at the Global Awards for Excellence ceremony. It was the first time for a bank from Egypt, Africa, or the Middle East to win this accolade.
Ezz Al-Arab was also the chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Banks (FEB), the chairman of Board of Trustees of the CIB Foundation, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the American University in Cairo (AUC).
He was graduated from the Faculty of Commerce at Cairo University, and joined the CIB after a career at Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, and Merrill Lynch in Manama, New York and Cairo.