Egyptian Central Bank Plans Takeover of Bank's UAE Branches After US Sanctions Threat
The move follows U.S. scrutiny of the branches, which FinCEN said handled about $1.8 billion in transactions tied to 103 companies.
- On Tuesday, the UAE Central Bank granted preliminary approval for the National Bank of Egypt to acquire the UAE branch network of Banque Misr, as the two Egyptian state-owned lenders reorganize their presence in the Emirati banking market.
- The move follows US Treasury warnings from August 28 that Banque Misr UAE served as a "critical node" for Iranian dollar access, with regulators proposing to revoke the bank's correspondent access to United States financial institutions.
- Treasury's FinCEN identified 103 potential Iranian shadow banking front companies using Banque Misr UAE accounts, alleging these entities processed approximately $1.8 billion in transactions between 2024 and June 2026.
- The UAE Central Bank simultaneously launched an urgent examination of the branches, including a forensic review of transactions, to determine if the acquisition addresses concerns regarding correspondent banking access.
- Neither FinCEN nor the Treasury has confirmed if this acquisition would revise the proposed correspondent-banking restrictions, and the transfer remains subject to further regulatory and procedural requirements.
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Egyptian state bank to acquire Banque Misr’s UAE branches after US links 103 companies to Iran’s shadow banking network
Egypt’s largest state-owned bank is moving to acquire the UAE operations of another government-controlled lender weeks after the United States threatened to cut the branches off from the American financial system over their alleged role in Iran’s shadow banking network.
The Egyptian National Bank obtained preliminary approval from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates for the acquisition of branches of the Bank of Egypt in the United Arab Emirates, in a move to rearrange the bank presence of the two banks in the midst of American pressures and sanctions.
The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) has obtained the preliminary agreement of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) to take over the branches of Misr Bank in the country, according to a joint announcement of the two institutions published on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. The operation, which remains subject to final regulatory authorizations, aims to reorganize the presence of the...
Egyptian Central Bank Plans Takeover of Bank's UAE Branches After US Sanctions Threat
The National Bank of Egypt is planning to acquire Egypt-headquartered Banque Misr's branches in the United Arab Emirates after receiving a preliminary approval from the Central Bank of the UAE, Banque Misr said Sept. 22. The announcement comes nearly a...
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