Alpha Bank
Alpha Bank is the second largest bank in Greece with 450 branches throughout the country. It also has a subsidiary and branch in London, and branches and subsidiaries throughout the Balkans (see "International expansion" below). Founded in 1879, it has been controlled by the Costopoulos family since the very beginning. Currently the bank is chaired by Ioannis Costopoulos, who is the grandson of the original founder John F. Costopoulos, and the nephew of Stavros Costopoulos, Foreign Minister in the liberal government of Georgios Papandreou.
History
In Greece
- In 1879 John F. Costopoulos established a small commercial firm in the city of Kalamata.
- In 1918 the banking department of the "J.F. Costopoulos" firm changed its name to Bank of Kalamata.
- In 1924 the bank moved its headquarters to Athens and changed its name to Banque de Credit Commercial Hellenique.
- In 1947 the bank changed its name to the Commercial Credit Bank (CCB).
- In 1972 the CCB changed its name to Credit Bank (Trapeza Pisteos).
- In 1994 Credit Bank changed its name to Alpha Credit Bank (ACB).
- In 1999 ACB acquired 51% of the shares of the Ionian Popular Bank.
- In 2000 ACB absorbed the Ionian Popular Bank. In the same year ACB changed its name to Alpha Bank.
- In 2002 Alpha Bank's attempted merger with National Bank of Greece fell through.
- In 2011 Alpha Bank merged with Eurobank EFG.[2]
International expansion
- In 1960 Commercial Credit Bank established a subsidiary in Cyprus that it may later have closed or sold.
In the early 1990s, the bank started on a program of international expansion, especially in the Balkans.
- In 1993 Credit Bank and the EBRD established "Banca Bucureşti" in Romania, which commenced operations the next year. Credit Bank owned about 50% of the bank.
- In 1994 ACB acquired Commercial Bank of London from Commercial Bank of Greece (Emporiki Bank) and renamed it Alpha Credit Bank London.
- In 1996 ACB established a branch in Tirana, Albania, and followed that with three more branches.
- In 1997 ACB established Alpha Credit Bank Jersey to promote private banking services.
- In 1998 ACB acquired 82.5% of Lombard NatWest Bank in Cyprus and renamed it Alpha Bank Ltd.
- In 1999 ACB acquired 65% of Kreditna Banka, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. It now owns 84% (see Alpha Bank Skopje).
- In 2000 "Banca Bucureşti" changed its name to "Alpha Bank Romania" (ABR). Monte dei Paschi di Siena took a 5% share of the bank. Alpha Bank’s share became 63%. ABR itself acquired a 12.5% stake in Victoria Bank (est. 1989), the largest private bank in Moldavia.
- In 2002 ACB acquired the minority stake and became the sole shareholder in Alpha Bank Skopje, accounting for 100% of its share capital.
- In early 2005 Alpha Bank acquired 88.64% stake in Serbian Jubanka and changed its name to Alpha Bank Beograd.
- Alpha Bank also has an extensive branch network in Bulgaria, the foundation of which it inherited from Ionian and Popular Bank, which entered in 1994 with a representative office in Sofia.
- On November 24, 2006, Alpha Bank announced that an agreement had been reached with Anadolu Group to create a strong franchise in the Turkish financial sector. According to a press release, through this partnership, "Alpha Bank enters a rapidly developing sector in a large and fast growing market. The Anadolu Group is one of the preeminent industrial concerns in Turkey and is also the majority owner of Abank (Alternatifbank). The transaction is valued at USD 492.5 million (Euro 384.3 million). Alpha Bank will ultimately contribute a cash consideration equal to half of said amount. The two parties will jointly establish a fifty-fifty holding company whose assets consist of the shares currently owned by the Anadolu Group in both Abank and Alease (Alternatiflease), that is 94% and 95% stakes respectively. The holding company will also own, indirectly, 100% of the brokerage firm Alternatif Yatirim, 45% of the listed closed-end investment fund Alternatif Yatirim Ortkaligi, as well as the head offices of the bank and the brokerage company, situated in premium locations of Istanbul," the press release said.[3]
- On March 27, 2008, Alpha Bank reached a deal to buy a majority stake in newly established OJSC Astra Bank in the Ukraine as part of plans to expand in the region. Alpha Bank agreed to buy 90 percent of Astra Bank for 9 million euros.
In addition, Alpha Bank has a branch in London and a finance company, Alpha Finance US, in New York.
See also
- Mutual Help Fund of Personnel of Ionian-Popular Bank and Other Banks
- Ionian Bank and Ionian Popular Bank of Greece
References
External links
See also
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