ABSTRACT
The majority of the first credit institutions in Egypt were the foreign financial syndicates, formed with the sole object of providing loans for the Khedive. The characteristics of early banking in Egypt must, to repeat, be sought in the totality of relevant factors of the economic evolution. The establishment of the National Bank of Egypt in 1898 was a step forward in the development of local deposit banking. Hitherto, working capital of the banks came from abroad. The pre-War credit institutions were severely tested by the crisis of 1907, which was preceded by feverish land speculation. The Administration’s express policy was to encourage small-holdings by breaking up big Government-owned estates. The position of the credit institutions and the conditions of the credit structure of Egypt when the World War broke out might be briefly summed up thus. The foregoing discussion on the rise and growth of credit institutions explains their real import as elements in framework of the national economy.
