Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Egypt's new government on Sunday ordered banks closed for the next two days after protests by National Bank workers apparently drove out the head of the institution.
The chairman of the National Bank of Egypt, Tarek Amer, told employees via e-mail that he submitted his resignation on Sunday, according to a person who received the message.
"I was saddened because I could not enter the bank's building today due to hundreds of protesting employees," the e-mail said, according to a bank employee, who was not authorized to speak to the media and asked not to be named.
Amer was joined by two of his deputies and the bank's head of human resources, according to the message. It was not clear whether the resignations have been accepted. But Sunday evening, Egyptian state television announced that the country's lenders would be shut down until Wednesday.
The announcement asked employees to consider the national interest in the wake of the revolt that drove longtime President Hosni Mubarak from office on Friday. The military council that took power from Mubarak has urged Egyptians to help bolster the country's economy, which had been paralyzed during the protests.
Sameh Shoukry, Egypt's ambassador to the United States, said Sunday that the new government has made restoring security and reviving commerce its top priorities. CNN
