Alpha Bank
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Alpha Bank is the second largest bank in Greece with 450 branches throughout the country. It also has a subsidiary in London and branches and subsidiaries throughout the Balkans (see "International expansion" below).
History
- 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 and Popular Bank.
- In 2000 ACB absorbed the Ionian and Popular Bank. In the same year ACB changed its name to Alpha Bank.
- In 2002 Alpha Bank attempted merger with National Bank of Greece fell through.
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) 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%.
- 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.
- Alpha Bank also has three branches in Serbia and Montenegro and a branch in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Website
Alpha Bank's homepage (http://www.alphabank.gr)