The Bank started its activities in Feb. 1985 at the time when the economic arena was characterized by major developments, a matter which gave the bank mission special significance, as Egypt was suffering at that time from great pressures on its balance of payments. This was apart from the rising deficit of the balance of trade. Consequently, the external debt problem started to represent a sort of concern to the Egyptian economy in all its sectors.

The Bank was founded as a financial institution to boost Egyptian exports. The export development issue is not only an economic policy to cope with the balance of payments problem, but also represents a strategic trend for development policies in a global economy that gets closer and integrated every day. Accordingly, the export sector is a crucial propeller for modernization and development. There are various examples of many small and medium size countries in which the export sector played a significant role in developing their economies.