(Bloomberg) -- Mahmoud Abdel Latif, who was appointed chairman of Egypt's Bank of Alexandria SAE in September 2002, says he knew as soon as he walked in the door of the main branch that he had a big job ahead. The paint on the walls was peeling, and the offices had an unsavory smell. It took customers an hour and a half and a visit to at least seven different tellers to cash a check. The bank was mired in bad debt. ``Everything was collapsing,'' Abdel Latif says of what was then Egypt's fourth- largest state-owned bank.
Last year, Sanpaolo IMI SpA of Italy bought an 80 percent stake in the bank for $1.6 billion, the biggest sale of a state company in Egypt's history. As a result, assets have grown. The bank has recouped 11 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.9 billion) in bad debt. Clients can now cash a check in six minutes. There are even flowers to greet visitors in the odor-free main branch.
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