Banque Misr is an Egyptian bank. Founded in 1920, the bank has branch offices in all of Egypt's governorates, and currency exchange and work permit offices for foreign workers in Egypt. It was co-founded by economist Talaat Harb Pasha, industrialist Joseph Aslan Cattaui Pasha and Joseph Cicurel. The government of the United Arab Republic nationalized the bank in 1960.
History
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.[2]
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