Banque Misr was established in 1920 by the pioneer economist Mohamed Talaat Harb Pasha, who came up with the concept of investing national saving and directing them towards economic and social development and thus Banque Misr became the first bank to be wholly owned by Egyptians. Since 1920, Banque Misr has been concerned with the establishment of companies in various fields, including spinning and weaving, insurance, transportation, aviation and cinema, and has continued to support all its activities at a steady rate, Banque Misr currently owns equity in 163 projects including financial, industrial, tourism, housing, Agri and food, general service, in addition to projects in the field of communication and information. Banque Misr has also established major investment funds in Egypt as a part of a diversified portfolio, and has been granted an award by the Global Finance Treasury and Cash Management Awards, as the "Best Provider of Money Market Funds in Africa and the Middle East for the year 2009 and 2010", and "Best Provider of Money Market Funds in the Middle East for the year 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014", and "Best provider of Money Market funds and short- term investments in the Middle East for the year 2015,2016 and 2017". A true pioneer in the region, Banque Misr became the first bank in Egypt and North Africa to become compliant with PCI data security standards, upon obtaining the global Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) certification. Utilizing the latest technology in the banking sector, Banque Misr is constantly looking to expand customer access to banking services. Today, Banque Misr is proud to offer one of Egypt's largest ATM networks, located across all areas of Egypt. Banque Misr's role is evident in all economic fields due to its geographic outreach. The bank's 14110 employees serve a large client base of more than 6.8 million clients in Egypt and a total paid-up capital amounting to EGP 15 billion. The Bank currently owns and operates more than 580 electronically connected local branches, including 5 branches in the United Arab Emirates, one in France, in addition to regional and global existence in Lebanon, Germany and worldwide network of correspondents.