Ionian Bank

The Ionian Bank was founded in London in 1839 to finance trade between the Ionian Islands, (a British protectorate) and Great Britain. After the cession to Greece of the islands in 1864, the Bank extended its operations to the rest of Greece and during the twentieth century to Egypt, Cyprus and Turkey. The Greek assets were sold to the Commercial Bank of Greece in the 1950s and the Egyptian assets were sequestrated. The Ionian Bank ceased trading as such in 1978, though certain parts of its business were carried on by Ionian Securities Ltd, which was taken over by Alpha Credit Bank in 1999, forming the Alpha Bank.