MY secretary reminded me today of tomorrow's meeting of the company's board of directors in which the bank was a shareholder. I was a member of that board of directors in my capacity as the representative of the bank's share. Like all banks, the bank was a shareholder in many companies. These companies were part of the banking system, such as the company that guarantees loans, the company that finances real estate mortgages, in addition to other companies which the bank may establish or have a share in its capital in accordance with a certain percentage, it does not exceed, of its total investments. The profits of these companies would go to the bank. I was entitled to an allowance for attending those monthly meetings, which constitutes an additional income that slightly compensates the low monthly salaries of a general bank manager, compared with the salaries of similar jobs in other banks. I used to be delighted when I receive an invitation to attend the Board of Directors meetings, because I would receive an allowance for that and also meet my colleagues, the other board of directors' members who were managers at other banks. I was even more delighted when I later received a check of the allowance for attending the meeting. The subject on companies, which the banks establish or own shares, reminds me of the Misr Bank, which was established in 1920, and the companies, which it had established, thereby contributing to the massive development of the Egyptian economy created by those companies. The companies established by the bank encompassed all areas of practice, including textile, insurance, transportation, oil, air travel, acting, cinema, vessels, medical products, shipping, tourism, foreign trade, departmental stores for selling the Egyptian products, etc. Banks of today are following suit. Many of them have established several companies in various fields, in addition to specialised companies to serve as intermediate in settlements between banks with regard to clearing of transactions conducted through credit or debit cards via ATMs of other banks. The settlement of these interconnected financial transactions required the establishment of a company that handles those settlements simultaneously among banks. Furthermore, banks contributed to the establishment of credit rating companies so that it becomes possible to identify the financial positions of the individuals and the companies, as well as their behaviour and financial reputation before engaging in granting the credit facilities which they apply for, whether in the form of credit cards or personal loans or even credit limits. All banks operating in Egypt share the inquiry services about retail customer risks in that company, which collects the information from the banks. This is done through an acknowledgement from each bank about the clients who received credits; the bank, on the other hand, gives recognition to the company on the credit customers. I once thought that the bank should establish a company to purchase th properties which ownership became vested in the bank. The properties which were originally guarantees for credit facilities or for loans which the clients defaulted in repaying them, and then the bank, after exhausting all amicably ways to acquisition, was forced to acquire them by taking legal action against the defaulted customer and settling the debt by means of in kind guarantee through owning the mortgaged property. Since such properties are governed by procedures and a maximum time frame for remaining owned by the bank, and the bank should dispose of such properties by selling before the expiration of the maximum period; the bank may be forced to sell them for unacceptable prices. Therefore, I thought of establishing a company purposed for buying this type of properties, dealing with them, maintaining and selling them in a timely manner, and at the right price. However, I did not have enough time to achieve this. Those are examples of companies the bank sets up to serve its business.
