Q&A – Simon Cooper

Simon Cooper is deputy chairman at HSBC Bank Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Herecently sat down with Executive to discuss the effect of the regional unreston business and investment in the MENA region, as well as growth opportunities for the future. With all the capital outflows, the foreign investments that have been stopped, the people who have been laid off, the expectation that unemployment will rise rather than fall, the lost tourism and the fact that the government is not spending yet, it seems it will take a lot for Egypt to not to fall into a very vicious circle. Banks in general and HSBC are exposed to a lot of risks there. There’s a risk of default from corporate clients and absolutely from individuals for the retail banking division. How are you going to manage this crisis? I think you’ve got to step back here. First there was