Banque du Caire

Banque du Caire

Industry	Finance
Founded	15 May 1952
Headquarters	Cairo, Egypt
Key people	Mohamed Kamal El-Din Barakat, Chairman Mohamed Yehia Saim Ozalp, Vice Chairman Mohamed Ahmed Kafafi, Vice Chairman
Products	Financial Services
Operating income	~ EP2.2 bn 2005
Employees	~
Website	http://www.bdc.com.eg

Banque du Caire, or "Bank of Cairo", is a full-service bank headquartered in Cairo. The bank operates over 123 branches in Egypt. It has branches in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras al Khaima in the United Arab Emirates and Manama in Bahrain, representative offices in Kiev, Ukraine and Harare, Zimbabwe, as well as affiliates or subsidiaries in Saudi Arabia, and Uganda. ^[1]

Among the bank's significant subsidiaries are: Suez Steel, in which the bank owns 78% of the shares. The bank has a 20% shareholding in Air Cairo, and owns 21.8% of the United Bank of Egypt. In Uganda, Banque du Caire owns 44.4% of the shares in Cairo International Bank, Uganda's 17th largest commercial bank based on assets.^[2]

The government of Egypt owns Banque du Caire; however, it is considering privatizing the bank.

History

• 1952 Several wealthy families established Banque du Caire (BC) as a private bank.
• 1954 BC established a branch in Jeddah.
• 1957 BC took over the Egyptian operations of Crédit Lyonnais and the Comptoir National d’Escompte de Paris (CNEP). which later became BNP Paribas, after the Egyptian government nationalized all French and English banks (and later all foreign banks) in the wake of the Suez crisis. The bank viewed this step as a major milestone in its growth.
• Prior to 1959 BC established a branch each in Damascus, Syria, and Amman, Jordan, and later branches in Aleppo and Latakia, both in Syria.
• 1960 BC’s branch in Amman, Jordan became the Cairo Amman Bank with BC retaining a minority position in the bank (12% in 1999.)
• 1961 The Egyptian government nationalized BC.
• 1962 Banque Misr Liban absorbed BC’s branches in Lebanon.
• 1963 The Syrian government nationalized BC’s branches there, incorporating them into Banque de l’Unité Arabe (Bank of Arab Unity; est. 1961).
• 1964 BC absorbed Banque de l’Union Commerciale (ex Credit Orient).
• 1975 BC contributed its five branches in Saudi Arabia to Saudi Cairo Bank for a 40% share, pursuant to Saudi Arabia’s nostrification program. That same year, BC (51%) joined with Barclays Bank (49%) to form Cairo Barclays International Bank.
• 1977 BC joined with Banque Nationale de Paris (a successor to CNEP) to form Banque du Caire et de Paris.
• 1978 BC joined with several Korean banks and other investors to found Cairo Far East Bank. Korean Exchange Bank was the largest shareholder with 32% and other Korean banks held 17%. BC owns 19%.
• In the 1970s, BC opened a branch at Manama in Bahrain and four in the UAE, at Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, and Ras-al-Khaimah.
• 1983 Cairo Barclays International Bank changed its name to Banque du Caire Barclays International.
• 1988 Saudi Cairo Bank required recapitalization following difficulties, including earlier unauthorized speculation in precious metals by senior management. BC’s share position fell to 20%.
• 1995 BC joined with Bank of Alexandria, National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr and Kato Aromatics to found Cairo International Bank in Uganda.
• 1997 Saudi Cairo Bank merged with United Saudi Commercial Bank to form United Saudi Bank. BC’s share position fell to 9.8%.
• 1999 Ownership of Banque du Caire et de Paris became BNP 76% and BC 22%. United Saudi Bank merged into Saudi American Bank. BC established representative offices at Kiev in the Ukraine and Harare in Zimbabwe. Barclays increased its stake in Banque du Caire Barclays International to 60% by buying an additional 11% from Banque du Caire.
• 2000: Barclays bought out Banque du Caire’s stake in Banque du Caire Barclays International.
• 2007: BC essentially withdrew from its ownership of (Cairo Amman Bank) in Jordan, with Banque Misr taking over its shares.

External links

• Bank of Cairo - English language
• Banque du Caire - Arabic language

References