Hisham Okasha, the chairperson of the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and Ibrahim Abdel Hady, the deputy governor of Cairo, inaugurated the bank’s Mosky branch a few days ago following its renovation.
According to Okasha, the reopening of the Mosky branch after its development is part of the bank’s strategy to modernise its 443 branches, of which 178 have been renovated so far.
Okasha stressed that the NBE is committed to providing brand new banking services in its various branches, thus contributing to expanding its customer base with clients from various categories, in order to support the principle of financial inclusion adopted by the state and the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
He pointed out that the Mosky branch is one of the oldest branches of Egyptian banks, as it was established in 1909 during the reign of Khedive Abbas Helmi II. The branch is the NBE’s ninth branch which continued to provide banking services in one of the vital areas of wholesale trade at the heart of Old Cairo, for over 83 years, until it was evacuated in the wake of the 1992 earthquake.
According to the Vice Chairperson of the NBE, Dalia El-Baz, the bank’s management preferred to re-operate this branch despite their possession of a demolition permit in 2007, and a purchase offer for the building for over EGP 100m at the time. However, the NBE obtained a general restoration license in 2014 to maintain the building as a distinguished architectural landmark in the heart of Cairo.
She added that the branch has been provided with the latest means of communication, technical equipment, and effective surveillance systems in the world’s largest institutions. The bank is keen to implement the latest technologies that comply with international standards and provide better, faster and safer service to its customers.
According to Hossam Al-Haggar, head of the bank’s administrative support group, the branch includes four ATMs and six tellers, as well as five customer service agents and a credit department.
Ashraf Al-Bakry, General Manager of Projects at the NBE, said that the development stages continued for about three years and passed a major engineering challenge, which was how to rehabilitate the building with modern specifications without prejudice to the heritage facade of the original building.
He added that for the first time in Egypt, they adopted a sophisticated engineering method: the bank used a German expert specializing in these works, to prepare the branch to operate after a 26-year hiatus.
