Marfin Popular Bank

Marfin Popular Bank (formerly Cyprus Popular Bank) is the second largest banking group in Cyprus behind the Bank of Cyprus. Trading on the island as Laiki Bank (Laiki being the Greek word for popular), it currently holds a 15% share of the market in loans and a 19% share of deposits. Its shares are listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange and the Athens Stock Exchange. MPB now has a network of in excess of 478 branches in Cyprus, Greece (where its subsidiary Marfin Egnatia Bank operates), Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, the UK and Malta. The Bank has applied to open a representative office in Beijing, Peoples Republic of China.

In 2007, the bank announced a multi-million financial deal to sponsor the football First Division in Cyprus until 2010. ^[3]

In 2010 they launched a new mobile banking and mobile trading service. In the same year the company was selected to as the bank of the year in Cyprus by the Banker.

History

• 1901 Four leading citizens of Limassol — Agathoclis Francoudis, Ioannis Kyriakides, Christodoulos Sozos and Neoklis Ioannides — established the Popular Savings Bank of Limassol to encourage saving among the workforce.
• 1924 The Popular Savings Bank of Limassol became the Popular Bank of Limassol and was the first company in Cyprus to register as a public-traded company.
• 1967 The Popular Bank of Limassol changed its name to Cyprus Popular Bank (CPB) to reflect the bank’s expansion beyond Limassol.
• 1968 CPB established its first Nicosia branch.
• 1969 CPB established its first Famagusta branch.
• 1970 CPB established its first branches in Paphos and Larnaca. Midland Bank became a major shareholder owning 22% of the stock.
• 1971 CPB moved its head office from Limassol to Nicosia.
• 1974 CPB established its first London branch.
• 1983 CPB acquired all the Cyprus operations of Grindlays Bank located in the area under government control.
• 1992 CPB opened the first branch of European Popular Bank in Athens. CPB owned 58% of the shares of the bank; other shareholders included HSBC (formerly Midland Bank) and Greek and Cypriot investors. CPB retained branches in Heraklion and Thessaloniki
• 1995 CPB opened its first representative offices in South Africa and in Toronto, Canada.
• 1996 CPB opened its first representative offices in Australia.
• 1997 CPB opened its first representative offices in Serbia and in Russia.
• 1998 CPB establishes a representative office in New York. (NY State Banking Dept says State chartered).
• 2000 The Popular Bank Group changed its name to “Laiki Group”.
• 2001 The Laiki Group established a subsidiary in Australia with five branches.
• 2005 The Group established Laiki Bank (Guernsey), and purchased Bank Centrobank in Serbia.
• 2006 The Greek Marfin Financial Group acquired HSBC's shares in Laiki Bank, establishing a strong minority share position. Subsequently, the Marfin Group through more acquisitions managed to take control of Laiki Bank, which it re-branded as Marfin Popular Bank.^[4] In Greece, the Marfin Group consolidated Egnatia, Laiki and Marfin to form Marfin Egnatia Bank, which is the 95%-owned Greek subsidiary of Marfin Popular Bank.
• 2007 The bank announced the planned takeover of 50.12% of the share capital of AS SBM Pank, a bank in Estonia.^[5]

MPB also acquired 99.2% of the shares of Marine Transport Bank Ukraine for US$156 million. This bank was founded in 1993 as Marine Trade Bank and changed its name to Marine Transport Bank in 1996. It has its headquarters in the Odessa region and has 86 branches.

Lastly, MPB acquired 43% of the share capital of Lombard Bank Malta for €48 million from BSI of Lugano

• 2008 Marfin Popular Bank completed its acquisition of 50.4% of the shares of CJSC RPB Holding, parent company of the Rossisysky Promishlenny Bank (Rosprombank), for €83 million. The acquisition makes Marfin the first Greek or Cypriot bank to acquire control of a bank in Russia.
• 2010 MPB sells 85% of Laiki Bank Australia to Bank of Beirut, with a new name of Beirut Hellenic Bank^[6]

References

External links

• Official website