Banque Misr (Arabic ：بنكمصر） Is An Egyptian Bank Founded In 1920 By Industrialist Joseph Aslan Qatay Pasha And Economist Talat Habu Pasha. The Government Of The United Arab Republic Nationalized The Bank In 1960. The Bank Has Branches In All Egyptian Provinces And Provides Currency Exchange And Work Permit Offices For Foreign Workers In Egypt.
History
Cairo Headquarters Building, Designed By Antonio Rasiak And Completed In 1927
The Idea Of The National Bank Of Egypt Dates Back At Least To The Time Of Muhammad Ali, Who Ordered The Establishment Of A Bank With 700,000 Rials Shortly Before His Death Due To Illness. On April 26, 1879, Amin Shumayyil Wrote An Article In The Al-Tijara Newspaper In Support Of The Idea; Although Some Egyptian Dignitaries Met To Discuss The Project, The Conflict Between Haidif Ismail Pasha And The National Assembly And The Subsequent Urabi Uprising Doomed The Idea This Time. Wilfried Scowan Blount, A Friend Of Ahmed Ulabi, The Leader Of The Uprising, Reports In His Memoirs That Ulabi Had Envisioned A "credit Bank" For The Peasants.
Beginning On November 1, 1908, Omar Lotfi Bey, A Member Of The Wattani Party And Vice-Chancellor Of The Faculty Of Law (now Part Of Cairo University), Revived The Idea In Lectures At The University Club, But His Suggestion Of Using German And Italian Aid And Credit Was Politically Controversial.
Joseph Cattaui And Talaat Harb Co-founded Banque Misr In 1920. Talat Published Books In 1907 And 1911 Calling For The Establishment Of A National Bank With Egyptian Funding. (The National Bank Of Egypt Is Owned By The British, And All Other Banks In Egypt Are Owned By Foreigners. Harb Modeled On The Business Of Deutsche Orientbank, Which He Was Familiar With Because Of His Friendship With The Owner Of Banque Suarès, A Sephardi Jewish Bank. Harb Founded Banque Misr And Its Company Based On Certain Concepts: All Its Transactions Were Conducted In Arabic, Egyptians Ran The Bank, And The Bank Limited Ownership Of Shares To Egyptian Citizens. Misr's Board Of Directors Included Some Hispanic Jews And A Coptic Christian.
In 1926-1927, Banque Misr Established Its First Foreign Subsidiary, Banque Misr-France, To Serve Egyptian Tourists To France. Its Paris Office Was Located At 101-103 Rue Des Petit Champs Elysees, Now 33-35 Rue Danielle Casanova, With Its Registered Address At 24 Place Vendôme. Four Years Later, Banque Misr Merged With Banque Essadine In Lebanon To Form The Joint Venture Banque Misr-Syrian-Liban. The Bank Then Absorbed Banque Ezzeddine & Adib (Izz Al-Din) In Tripoli.
Banque Misr Collapsed In 1939, But Was Subsequently Restructured.
In 1935, Talaat Harb And Medhat Yakan Opened A New Branch In Banque Misr.
In 1960, Gamal Nasser Nationalized All Foreign And Domestic Banks In Egypt, Including The Four Largest Domestic Banks - National Bank Of Egypt, Misr Bank, Alexandria Bank, And Kyle Bank. The Following Year, Syria Nationalized All Banks Operating In The Country, Including Misr Bank's Operations There.
- In 1963 In Libya, Banque Misr Founded Nahda Arabian Bank, Opening A Branch There.
- In 1971, Banque Misr Absorbed Banque De Port-Said. Founded In 1960, Port Said Bank Was Responsible For The Egyptian Operations Of Several Foreign Banks, Including Ionian Bank, Ottoman Bank, Egyptian Belgian And International Bank, And Bank Of Tokyo.
- In 1975, The Liberalization Of Foreign Entry Led To The Establishment Of Joint Venture Banks Between Several Egyptian Banks And Foreign Banks.
- In 1976, Banque Misr Established Misr International Bank (MIBank), With Banque Misr Owning 44%, First Chicago 20%, Europartners 10.5%, UBAF Bank 8.5%, Banco Di Roma 7.375% And Mitsui Bank 2.625%.
- Misr Established Misr American International Bank (MAIB) With Bank Of America.
- Misr Established Misr Exterior Bank In A Joint Venture With Banco Exterior De España.
- In 1977, MISR Bank, Together With Some Romanian Banks, Established Misr Romanian Bank. Misr Originally Owned 51% Of The Shares, Banca Romana De Comert Exterior Owned 19%, And Other Romanian Banks Such As Banca Agricola And Banca Comerciala Romana Owned The Rest.
- In 1988, Banque De Caire Acquired 17% Of MIBank And Misr Took Over 20% Of First Chicago.
- 1995 Banque Misr Joined Forces With Bank Of Alexandria, National Bank Of Egypt, Banque Du Caire And Kato Aromatics To Found Cairo International Bank In Uganda.
- In 1996, MIBank Sold A 10% Stake To The Egyptian Public In An Initial Public Offering. The Remaining Shareholders Are Misr (approximately 55%), Rome International Bank (10%), British Arab Commercial Bank (8.5%), Commerzbank And Spanish Central Bank (7.875% Combined) And Sakura Bank (2.625%).
- 2004 Banque Misr Was Merged Into Misr Exterior Bank.
- In 2005, National Societe Generale (NSGB), A Joint Venture Between National Bank Of Egypt And Société Générale, Acquired A Majority Stake In Misr International Bank (MIBank), Making NSGB The Largest Private Sector Bank In Egypt. Arab African International Bank (AAIB) Acquired Misr America International Bank (MAIB). The Lebanese Blom Bank Has Increased Its Stake In The Romanian-Egyptian Joint Venture Misr Romania Bank To 97% By Purchasing An 84% Stake.
Investment Financing
The General Investment Funds Administration Was Established In 1994 To Expand The Bank's Product Range With An Eye To Flexibility And Low Costs. Banque Misr Manages Long-term And Short-term Investments For Individuals, Businesses And Institutions. Offering Eight Investment Funds, Each With Its Own Investment Strategy, It Has Won The Regional Award For Two Consecutive Years.
- First Fund
- Second Fund (Growth Capital)
- Third Fund (Accumulated Earnings And Term Distributions)
- Fourth Fund (Shariah With The Help Of Al-Hosn Fund)
- Omar Fund (Accumulated Investments In Life Insurance And Capital Guarantees)
Venture Capital
- Establishing Projects On Behalf Of Clients, Obtaining Official Approvals And Permits, Preparing Company Contracts And Articles Of Association And By-laws, Taking A One-month Process, Issuing And Registering
- Organizing Underwriting Of New Projects
- Establishing Existing Projects Share Capital Of The Company, Conclusion Of Its Procedures And Issuance Of Certificates Of Deposit
- Issuance Of Bonds For Companies And Organizations
- Liquidation Of The Company And Handling Of Related Financial, Legal And Tax Procedures
- Registration Of Shares In The Company As A Custodian Bank
- Evaluation Of The Company's Assets And Withdrawal Of Its Fair Share Price With A Dedicated Expert Office
Real Estate
- Auction Of Various Real Estate Properties On Behalf Of Clients
- Residential And Property Management For Clients
- Promotion Of Industrial And Tourist Projects, Residential And Administrative Units, Villas, Resorts And Amusement Parks, As Well As Traditional Direct Buyer-seller Transactions
Portfolio Management
- Payment Of Periodic Obligations On Behalf Of Clients To Government Entities And Creditors
- Liquidation Of Estates In Egypt And Abroad And Distribution Among Heirs
- Provision Of Technical Advice And Expertise To Help Build Projects
Other Services
- Preparation Of Economic Feasibility Studies For Clients' Projects
- Preparation Of Exhibitions, Seminars And National And International Conferences
- Other Non-traditional Services
Phone Banking
Banque Misr Provides Phone Banking With The Number 19888, And Each Account Is Kept Completely Confidential Using A Password And Serial Number; Providing These Generates A Balance And The Last Five Transactions.
Banque Misr Wallet
In March 2017, Banque Misr Launched Electronic Payments Via Mobile Phones. The Wallet Can Be Used To Deposit And Withdraw Money In Accounts, Transfer From One Enabled Account To Another, Pay Utility Bills, Collect Company Balances, Donate, Pay Fines, Receive Telegraphic Transfers, And Pay For Purchases From Approved Merchants.
Service Areas
Banque Misr Has A Unique Global Presence, Pioneering The Latest Banking Innovations Across The Country And Including One Of The Largest Computer Centers In The Middle East, Connecting Its 626 Branches And 2,516 ATMs. From 2005 To 2009, The Company Established A Network Between Its Branches. By The End Of This Time, The Company Had 32 Affiliated Islamic Bank Branches. As The Largest Credit Card Issuer In Egypt, It Was Also The First Bank In The Country To Offer Contactless Payments.
- United Arab Emirates: Established In 1974 And Formerly Known As Banque Du Caire, The Division Was Renamed In 2008 To Match Major Banks. There Are 5 Branches In The UAE.
- Lebanon: Banque Misr Is One Of The Oldest Banks In Lebanon, Founded In 1929 And Has 18 Branches Across The Country With A Capital Of 100 Billion Pounds.
- France
- Germany
- Saudi Arabia: On April 6, 2021, The Saudi Cabinet Granted Banque Misr Permission To Open A Branch In Saudi Arabia.
