Customer deposits in the bank reached 86.5 billion pounds, and loans reached 44.75 billion pounds CAIRO: The Bank of Alexandria has said its Italian majority owner, the Intesa Sanpaolo banking group, has re-acquired shares previously owned by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which it first sold to it in 2008. The stake repurchased by Intesa represents 39 million shares, or 9.75 percent. In a statement, the bank said the Italian banking group had bought IFC’s share for about $162 million, meaning it now controlled 80 percent. The group had previously acquired an 80 percent stake in the Bank of Alexandria in 2006, with the remaining 20 percent share belonging to the Egyptian state, represented by the Ministry of Finance. IFC bought a 9.75 percent stake from Intesa Sanpaolo two years later. During the share purchase process between Intesa Sanpaolo and the IFC, the two parties agreed on the conditions under which the corporation reserved the right to resell the shares to the group based on the share price agreed upon at the time of the agreement. The Bank of Alexandria had previously announced that for the first half of 2020, its assets exceeded 103.8 billion Egyptian pounds ($6.58 billion) and achieved a net profit of EGP 1.36 billion pounds,. Customer deposits in the bank reached 86.5 billion pounds, and loans reached 44.75 billion pounds. The Bank of Alexandria was established in 1957, and has over 176 branches in all major Egyptian governorates, employs over 4,500 people, and serves 1.5 million customers.