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Egypt’s cash-rich banks proved themselves resilient through the years of upheaval that followed the 2011 revolution which paralysed the economy and scared away foreign investors.

For the banks, a steep rise in lending to the Cairo government struggling to plug a widening budget deficit has offered a safe way of making handsome earnings, while longstanding conservative credit policies have enabled them to keep bad loans in check.

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Now, as a degree of confidence returns to the economy — anchored in perceptions of the durability of the regime of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the president and former army chief — banks report a take-off in corporate lending at levels unseen since pre-revolution days. Foreign currency shortages as a result of the damage to tourism and the drop in foreign investment are still considered a brake on economic activity, but big companies in a range of sectors in this market of 90m people have increased their borrowing for capital expenditure. Details