National Bank of Egypt (NBE) will assume control of Banque Misr’s operations in the UAE .
Financial terms of the transaction remain undisclosed.
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The lenders reached an “agreement in principle” to restructure their presence in the UAE, subject to the country’s legal and procedural rules, Banque Misr said in a statement.
The deal has secured the preliminary nod from the UAE central bank.
The handover would be carried out in an “orderly” way, with regard to the requirements of the UAE central bank and in co-ordination with the relevant authorities, added Banque Misr.
Reuters reported that the US Treasury in August regarded the branches as a “critical node” for the Iranian government’s access to US dollars and had proposed cutting Banque Misr UAE’s correspondent banking links with US financial institutions.
In August, Treasury’s FinCEN had identified 103 possible Iranian shadow banking front companies that used accounts at Banque Misr UAE between 2024 and June this year.
National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr are both owned by the Egyptian state. NBE says on its website that it maintains a representative office in Dubai.
The statement said: “Banque Misr extends its sincere thanks and appreciation to the Central Bank of the UAE and the relevant authorities in the United Arab Emirates for the cooperation and support they have provided during Banque Misr’s period of operation in the country.
“Meanwhile, the National Bank of Egypt looks forward to building a long-term banking and institutional relationship with the United Arab Emirates and its regulatory and banking institutions.”
