Commercial Bank of Greece
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|
| Private | |
| Industry | Finance and Insurance |
| Founded | 1907 as Commercial Bank of Greece |
| Headquarters | Athens, Greece |
| Products | Commercial banking, Investment banking, Private banking, Asset management |
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Number of employees
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4,000 |
| Parent | Alpha Bank |
| Website | www.emporiki.gr |
Commercial Bank of Greece (Greek: Εμπορική Τράπεζα της Ελλάδας) was a Greek bank. Its headquarters was in Athens. On 1 February 2013, Alpha Bank bought Commercial Bank.
The Commercial Bank of Greece (CBG) was established in 1907 and two years later listed on the stock exchange. In 1922, CBG established Commercial Bank of the Near East (CBNE) in London with CBG as a major shareholder. CBG expanded its international operations further by opening a branch in Alexandria in 1925, and subsequently another in Cairo.
After the Suez Crisis in 1956, Egypt nationalized the operations of British and French banks. To avoid nationalization, in 1957 Commercial Bank of the Near East, which was incorporated in London, transferred its branches in Egypt to Commercial Bank of Greece. This proved to be of only temporary help as in 1960 the Egyptian government nationalized all banks in Egypt, including CBG’s branches in Cairo and Alexandria.
At about the same time, i.e., in 1959, CBG acquired the Greek operations of Ionian Bank, including its ownership of Popular Bank. CBG continued to operate the bank separately, and later renamed it Ionian and Popular Bank of Greece. CBG also acquired a major shareholding in Banque du Piree (Piraeus Bank), which had been established in 1916. CBG continued to grow in Greece via acquisition when in it acquired a major share holding (29% in 1995) in Bank of Attica, which had been established in 1925.
In 1965, CBG entered the European Common Market when it created Griechische Handelsbank in Frankfurt am Main. Later this subsidiary changed its name to Commercial Bank of Greece (Germany).
Twenty-five years later, in 1990, CBG renamed its subsidiary in London to Commercial Bank of London.
In 1994 CBG finally opened its first branch in Nicosia, Cyprus. The next year CBG’s International Banking Unit in Limassol, Cyprus commenced operations. CBG also started to expand in the former Communist countries. First, it became a strategic investor in Bulgarian Investment Bank. However, CBG sold Commercial Bank of London to Alpha Credit Bank (now Alpha Bank), which renamed it Alpha Bank London.
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Wikipedia