Egypt's NBE bank to acquire Banque Misr's branches in UAE

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Egypt’s NBE bank to acquire Banque Misr’s branches in UAE

September 23, 2026

National Bank of Egypt NBE twin towers headquarters Cairo 2020 — The twin towers of the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) headquarters, Cairo, Egypt, 2020. Photo: Creative Commons/Wikimedia Commons.

DUBAI,— Egypt’s National Bank of Egypt (NBE) will take over Banque Misr’s branches in the United Arab Emirates, the two state-run banks said Tuesday, just weeks after the U.S. Treasury threatened the branches with sanctions over alleged ties to Iran, Reuters reported.

The U.S. Treasury said on August 28, 2026, that the branches served as a “critical node” giving Iran’s government access to U.S. dollars.

It proposed cutting Banque Misr UAE’s correspondent banking ties with U.S. financial institutions.

The penalty was set to take effect within 30 days following a public comment period. Banque Misr said it was studying the notice, while the UAE central bank opened an urgent review of the branches.

The UAE central bank has now given initial approval for National Bank of Egypt to buy the branches, the two lenders said in a joint statement Tuesday.

The statement said the move was part of efforts “to keep pace with the current development of foreign banking markets” and related needs going forward.

Egyptian bank, Banque Misr, Dubai, UAE. Photo: yandex

It said Banque Misr and National Bank of Egypt had reached an early agreement to reorganize their banking operations in the UAE.

The statement made no mention of the sanctions threat. The banks said the deal fits a shared plan to combine their overseas banking operations without interrupting services.

Both banks are owned by the Egyptian government. National Bank of Egypt’s website says it operates a representative office in Dubai.

The UAE central bank, the U.S. Treasury and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr and Egypt’s central bank also did not immediately respond.

The UAE has long served as a key economic link for Iran, and Dubai banks have held large amounts of Iranian-linked deposits, many frozen under U.S. sanctions.

The Gulf nation, a close U.S. partner, faced heavy Iranian strikes early in the Middle East conflict, which disrupted energy shipments, business activity and air travel.

FinCEN said in August it had found 103 possible Iranian shadow banking front companies that used accounts at Banque Misr UAE between 2024 and June of this year.

(With files from Reuters)