Talaat Harb
In 1920 Joseph joined forces with Talaat Harb and prominent Jewish businessman Yusuf ‘Aslan Qattawi to create Egypt’s first national bank, Banque Misr. He was one of the 10 founding directors who boldly aimed to break the foreign stranglehold over Egypt's economy, namely that of the British, French and Belgian, who were shareholders of Egypt's banks and financial institutions. Banque Misr was widely acclaimed as the embodiment of Egyptian economic nationalism.