The National Bank of Egypt (NBE; Arabic ：البنك الأهلي المصري） is a bank founded in Egypt in June 1898 and is the largest bank in the country (2013) in terms of assets, deposits, loans, bank capital, total number of branches and number of employees.

NBE has 540 branches in the country with assets of £366.60 billion, total deposits of €312.70 billion and total loans and advances of £114.70 billion. As of 2007, the National Bank of Egypt accounted for 23% of the total assets of the Egyptian banking system, 25% of total deposits and 25% of total loans and advances. NBE also financed about 24% of Egypt's foreign trade during the year. NBE also accounts for 74% of the Egyptian credit card market and 40% of debit cards.

According to The Banker magazine, published in July 2007, NBE ranks 226th among the world's 1,000 banks in terms of total assets and 3rd among Arab banks.

History

19th Century

On June 25, 1898, Sir Ernest Cassel (50% ownership), Joseph Suarez (1837-1900), Rafael Suarez (1846-1909) and Felix Isaac Suarez (1844-1906), Moise Katai (25%) and Konstantin Salvagos of Alexandria (25%) established the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), although Cassel remained in England. The NBE established an institution in London.

Certificate of stock of the National Bank of Egypt, issued 17 April 1899

Advertisement of the National Bank of Egypt showing its Cairo headquarters before reconstruction in the late 1940s

New Borg El Arab city branch

20th century

• In 1901, NBE opened a branch in Khartoum. It gained a privileged position as a government banker and as a government banker, and acted as a semi-official central bank. Over time, it added more institutions and branches in Sudan.
• In 1902, NBE established the Agricultural Bank of China in Egypt.
• In 1906, NBE established the Abyssinian Bank in Addis Ababa. The bank was given a 50-year monopoly, acting as the fiscal agent of the Ethiopian government and the sole issuer of money.
• In 1925, Lloyds Bank transferred its branches in Cairo and Alexandria to NBE, which had been acquired from the Bank of British West Africa when it acquired Cox & Kings in 1923.
• In 1931, the Abyssinian Bank was liquidated and the Ethiopian government established the Ethiopian Bank to replace it.
• In 1936, the Agricultural Bank of China of Egypt was liquidated.
• In 1940, all employees and the majority of the board of directors of the bank were Egyptians.
• In 1951, a decree granted NBE the status of the Central Bank of Egypt.
• In 1957, the Banking Law confirmed NBE's status as the Central Bank of Egypt.
• In 1959, the Sudanese government nationalized NBE's assets in Sudan as the basis for a new central bank, the Bank of Sudan
• In 1960, the Egyptian government nationalized NBE and established an independent central bank.
• In 1961, Citibank sold its Egyptian assets and liabilities to NBE. Citibank entered in 1955, but was forced to leave due to a nationalization decree.
• In 1975, Chase Manhattan Bank (49%) and the National Bank of Egypt (51%) established the International Commercial Bank (CIB).
• In 1976, NBE, along with 19 other Arab banks and 4 American banks, established Arab American Bank as a wholesale bank operating in New York.
• In 1982, NBE established a subsidiary in the United Kingdom.
• In 1987, Chase Bank sold its stake in CIB to NBE, which was renamed Commercial International Bank, SAE. Partial privatization in 1993 and GDR issuance in 1996 reduced NBE's share to 34%. NBE established a representative office in South Africa and a banking subsidiary in London, taking over the assets and operations of NBE's former subsidiary and its two branches there at the time.

21st Century

• In 2000, NBE established a branch in New York to take over the operations of Arab American Bank.
• In 2005, NBE acquired Mohandes Bank, which was established in 1979 as a commercial bank. It also acquired Bank of Commerce and Development, or "Al Tigaryoon".
• In 2006, NBE opened a representative office in Dubai.
• In 2008, NBE upgraded its Shanghai representative office to a branch.

Overseas Business

NBE has a subsidiary outside Egypt, located in London, UK, which is the bank's sole subsidiary.

The bank's U.S. operations began sometime in 2001 and are directed from the offices of the Blackstone Building at 40 East 52nd Street in New York City

with branches in New York and Shanghai, and representative offices in Johannesburg and Dubai

Awards

• 2016 Best Performer in Banking in Egypt, Global Brand Magazine Awards