The idea of a national bank of Egypt dates to at least the days of
Muhammad Ali, who ordered the establishment of a bank with 700,000
riyals shortly before he became ill and died. Amin Shumayyil wrote an article in favor of the idea on April 26, 1879 in the newspaper Al-Tijara; although a number of Egyptian dignitaries met to discuss the project, the conflict between the
Khedive Isma'il Pasha and the National Assembly and subsequent
ʻUrabi revolt doomed the idea this time. Revolt leader
Ahmed ʻUrabi's friend
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt reports in his memoirs that Urabi had envisioned a “credit bank” for farmers. Omar Lotfi Bey, a member of the
Watani Party and Vice-President of the School of Law (now part of
Cairo University) revived the idea in lectures at the Universities’ Club beginning on November 1, 1908, but his suggestions of using
German and
Italian assistance and credit were politically controversial. Talaat had published books in 1907 and 1911 calling for the founding of a national bank with Egyptian financing. (The
National Bank of Egypt was British-owned, and all the other banks in Egypt were owned by foreigners.) Harb modeled Bank Misr's operations on those of
Deutsche Orientbank with which he was familiar due to his friendship with the owner of a
Sephardi Jewish bank, Banque Suarès. Harb established Banque Misr and its companies on the basis of certain concepts: all its dealings were in Arabic, Egyptians operated the bank, and the bank restricted share ownership to Egyptian citizens. Misr's Board of Directors included a number of Sephardic 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 on 101-103
rue des Petits-Champs, now 33-35
rue Danielle Casanova, with registered address across the block on 24
Place Vendôme. Four years later, Bank Misr joined with Banque Essadine, in Lebanon, to form the joint-venture Banque Misr-Syrie-Liban. This bank then absorbed Banque Ezzeddine & Adib (Izz al-Din) in
Tripoli. Banque Misr failed in 1939, but was then reorganized. and Medhat Yakan at the opening of a new branch of Banque Misr in 1935. In 1960
Gamal Nasser nationalised all banks in Egypt, foreign and domestic, including the four largest domestic banks —
National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr,
Alexbank and
Banque du Caire. The next year, Syria nationalized all banks operating in the country, including Banque Misr's operations there. • 1963 In Libya, Banque Misr created Nahda Arabian Bank to hold its branches there. • 1971 Banque Misr absorbed
Banque de Port-Said. Banque de Port-Said had been created in 1960 to hold the Egyptian operations of several foreign banks, including
Banque Belge et Internationale en Egypte and
Bank of Tokyo. In 1964 it also absorbed
Bank Al-Goumhouria, which in 1956 had taken over the Egyption operations of the
Ionian Bank and
Ottoman Bank. • 1975 Liberalization of foreign entry led several Egyptian banks to establish joint venture banks with foreign banks. • 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. • 1977 Bank MISR established Misr Romanian Bank, together with a number of
Romanian banks. Misr initially owned 51%, with Banca Romana de Comert Exterior owning 19%, and other Romanian banks such as Banca Agricola and Banca Comerciala Romana owning the rest. • 1988
Banque de Caire took a 17% in MIBank, and Misr took over First Chicago's 20% stake. • 1995 Banque Misr joined with
Alexbank,
National Bank of Egypt,
Banque du Caire and Kato Aromatics to found
Cairo International Bank in
Uganda. • 1996 MIBank sold 10% of its shares to the Egyptian public in an
initial public offering. The remaining shareholders were Misr with some 55%,
Banca di Roma International (10%),
British Arab Commercial Bank (8.5%),
Commerzbank and Banco Central Hispano Americano (jointly 7.875%) and
Sakura Bank (2.625%). • 2004 Banque Misr merged in Misr Exterior Bank. • 2005
National Société Générale Bank (NSGB), a joint venture between
National Bank of Egypt and
France's
Société Générale, acquired a majority stake in Misr International Bank (MIBank), making NSGB Egypt's biggest private sector bank. Arab African International Bank (AAIB) acquired Misr America International Bank (MAIB). Lebanon's Blom Bank increased its stake in Romanian-Egyptian joint venture Misr Romania Bank to 97% by purchasing an 84% stake.
Banque Misr Wallet In March 2017, Banque Misr launched its
online banking services for electronic payment over a
mobile phone. The Wallet can be used to deposit and withdraw money in accounts, transfer from one enabled account to another, pay utility bills, charge companies’ balance, donate, pay fines, receive
wire transfers, and pay for purchases from approved merchants. ==International operations==