Hassan Abdalla might be next Egypt’s central bank governor

Hassan Abdalla, an Egyptian banker with over 30 years of experience in the financial industry and managing director of media conglomerate UMS, might succeed Tarek Amer and becomes the new central bank governor, media reports said on Wednesday.

President Sisi accepted this morning Amer’s resignation and named him as adviser.

Abdalla started his banking career in 1982 with the Arab African International Bank (AAIB), the first multinational bank in Egypt. He first worked in the bank’s dealing room, then moved to AAIB’s New York City branch in 1988 to manage its US treasury portfolio and hedging policy, while working on portfolio restructuring of bond swaps and repos. He held several positions at the bank until he became Managing Director in 2002.

He pioneered exceptional growth and expansion for the AAIB that led it to become the fastest-growing in Egypt and the region in terms of size and profitability. The bank is also the first in the Middle East to introduce the social development foundation and initiative, We Owe it to Egypt, for philanthropic activities, in addition to its sustainability activities.

In 2018, Abdalla held the position of the first assistant to the central bank governor.