Ionian Bank

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Former branch on Corfu , which today houses the banknote museum

Ioniki Bank ( Greek Ιονική Τράπεζα Ionikí Trápeza , English Ionian Bank , Italian Banca Ionica ) was a commercial bank founded in 1839 with headquarters in London , which also acted as the central bank of the Republic of the Ionian Islands . The bank had branches on all the larger islands of the Ionian Islands , later also in the rest of Greece and in the Middle East. A portico with Ionic columns was characteristic of the bank's classical buildings .

history

Once founded only for business between London and the Ionian Islands, the bank developed into the most important bank in the Ionian Islands and from 1845 also in Greece. After the Ionian Islands joined Greece, the Ionian Bank was allowed to issue its own banknotes alongside the National Bank of Greece ; this task was transferred to the Bank of Greece from 1920 .

Banknote issued by the IB (1 drachma, 1885)

The seat was moved to Athens in 1873, the bank was nationalized in 1975 and privatized again in 1999. During the privatization, the bank was merged with Trapeza Pisteos (credit bank), the new bank now operates as Alpha Bank . In order to preserve the naming rights, the lettering remained on the building of the former branch in Corfu, which is in operation as a banknote museum.

International business activity

Former office in Nicosia, Cyprus

In the course of its existence, the bank has repeatedly pursued internationalization efforts. The focus was on countries that had a larger Greek-speaking community:

  • 1907: Opening of several branches in Constantinople . Like all later foreign companies, these were operated in the form of a subsidiary ( Popular Bank ). Forced acquisition by Italy during World War II. After the return in 1949, the final loss occurred in 1956 via expropriation by the Egyptian state, which in the course of the Suez crisis also transferred French and British branches throughout the country to its own institute.
  • From 1924 to 1928 the IB had an office in New York City .
  • 1926/27: Based on the positive experiences in Egypt, opening of four branches in Cyprus ( Nicosia , Famagusta , Limassol , Larnaka ). Although a significant market share was achieved within a few years, the local business environment offered far fewer opportunities for profit due to intense competition. 1957 followed the sale of the activities there to the British colonial bank Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China .
  • The London office was acquired by Emporiki Bank on the transition to Alpha Bank .

Trivia

In 2012, the French cooperative bank Crédit Agricole sold the financially troubled Emporiki Bank to Alpha Bank for a symbolic price of one euro. The former London headquarters of the IB thus went back to their legal successor.

Web links

literature

  • Ionian Bank (1953) Ionian Bank Limited: A History . (London).
  • Cottrell, PL (2002) Founding a multinational enterprise: Ionian Bank, 1833–1849, in P. Kostis, (ed.) The creators and creation of banking enterprises in Europe from the 18th to the 20th centuries . (Athens: Historical Archives, Alpha Bank).
  • Cottrell, PL (2007) The Ionian Bank: An Imperial Institution, 1938-1864 . (Athens: Historical Archives, Alpha Bank).
  • Moncrief-Scott, Ian. 2001. International Trade on the Ionian Isles. Financial History (Winter), 28-31.
  • Orbell, J. and A. Turton. 2001. British Banking: A Guide to the Historical Records . (Aldershot: Ashgate).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ THE MERGER OF THE IONIAN BANK IS APPROVED BY ALPHA CREDIT BANK - Permalink - athexgroup.gr. Retrieved April 23, 2020 .
  2. ^ Geoffrey Jones: British Multinational Banking, 1830-1990 . Clarendon Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0-19-820602-6 ( google.de [accessed April 23, 2020]).
  3. ↑ The Ionian Bank (1839-1977). Retrieved April 23, 2020 (English).
  4. ↑ DER SPIEGEL | Online news. Retrieved April 23, 2020 .