Faisal Islamic Bank has issued a brief release stating that 3Q16 standalone net income reached EGP466mn, a spike of 79% Y-o-Y and 206% Q-o-Q, with 2Q16 being a low base as a surge in tax charges and a weak fee income weighed on earnings in 2Q16. The reported earnings in 3Q16 are strong and came well ahead of our forecast of EGP177mn (164% above our estimate). The bank’s pre-tax income in 3Q16 stood at EGP654mn, up 47% Y-o-Y and 94% Q-o-Q, coming in 111% above our forecast. This suggests the earnings strong beat was partly driven by lower-than-expected tax charge during the quarter. (Earnings release, Elena Sanchez-Cabezudo, Rajae Aadel)     Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt: USD1.40 as of 10 October 2016, Rating: Buy, FV: USD1.77 per share, MCap: USD322mn, FAITA EY / FAITA.CA