The Ionian Bank was a bank of issue established in 1839 in London to operate in the United States of the Ionian Islands , which was then a British protectorate . The bank moved its head office in Greece from Corfu to Athens in 1873, and expanded in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean , including through the acquisition of Greece's Popular Bank in 1938. After losing its branches in Egypt to nationalization in 1956, the British parent entity sold its operations outside the United Kingdom. The Greek business, renamed Ionian and Popular Bank and nationalized in 1975, was eventually absorbed into Alpha Bank in 2000.
34-747: At the initiative of Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands Howard Douglas , and following earlier failed attempts in 1833 and 1837, a resolution of the Senate of the Ionian Islands established the Ionian State Bank on 23 October 1839, primarily to finance trade between the islands and Great Britain. It opened operations in Corfu on 1 March 1840, making it the oldest in what is now Greece. The Ionian Bank received
68-638: A 20-year grant of the exclusive privilege of issuing and circulating banknotes for the Ionian Islands. The bank soon changed its name to Ionian Bank, and initially only operated in the Ionian Islands, opening branches in Corfu , Zakynthos and Kefalonia the following year. It received a British royal charter that clarified its legal structure in 1844. In 1845 it established agencies in Athens and Patras , also appointing agents in Trieste and Venice . In 1864,
102-625: A branch in Nicosia , followed in 1927 by agencies in Famagusta , Limassol , and Larnaca . In 1928, it closed its operations in New York and Istanbul; assets of the latter were taken over by Deutsche Bank . In 1938, it acquired more than two-thirds of the share capital of Popular Bank , which had been established in 1905. During World War II in 1942, the Italian authorities forcibly acquired
136-457: A controversial work dealing with the question of breaking the line. From 1835 to 1840 Douglas, then a GCMG , was Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands , where, amongst other reforms, he introduced a new code of laws. In 1837 he became a Lieutenant-General, in 1840 a KCB, in 1841 a civil GCB, and in 1851 a full general. He was given the colonelcy of the 99th (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot from 1841 to 1851 when he transferred as colonel to
170-586: A draft for Canada , and lived with his men for a whole winter on the Labrador coast. Soon after his return to England in 1799 he was made a Captain-Lieutenant. In his regimental service during the next few years, he was attached to all branches of the artillery in succession, becoming Captain in 1804, after which he was placed on half-pay to serve at the Royal Military College (RMC) , then located at High Wycombe . He taught military strategy and
204-694: A separate entity. The bank was greatly affected by the Second World War . Their UK office had an established sports ground in East Molesey in Surrey, which included an active rugby club. The site had once been a large country estate and the house known as the ‘Wilderness’. It was demolished when the park was developed into a high-class residential estate in 1876. The new ‘Wilderness’ was a red brick house, built in 1881 in Jacobean style. In 1929
238-723: A standard text-book, and indeed first drew attention to the subject of which it treated. Sir Howard Douglas became Governor of New Brunswick (1823–31). He had to deal with the Maine boundary dispute with the United States of 1828. He also founded Fredericton College (King's College), now known as the University of New Brunswick, of which he was the first Chancellor. He was governor during the Miramichi fire of 1825, and his actions during that crisis increased his popularity with
272-491: The 15th (the Yorkshire East Riding) Regiment of Foot , a position he held until his death in 1861. From 1842 to 1847 Douglas sat as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool , where he took a prominent part in debates on military and naval matters and on the corn laws . He was frequently consulted on important military questions. His later works included Observations on
306-571: The Alexandria Commercial and Maritime Bank , which in 2006 was acquired by Abu Dhabi 's Union National Bank . The branch later came under operation by Qatar National Bank , which reopened it in 2023 following renovation. Howard Douglas General Sir Howard Douglas, 3rd Baronet , GCB , GCMG , FRS (23 January 1776 – 9 November 1861) was a British Army officer born in Gosport , England ,
340-749: The Ottoman Bank . The Ionian Bank had provided cover for British Intelligence, and two of its directors, Bickham Sweet-Escott and Robin Brook , had belonged to MI6 . Be that as it may, all British and French banks were nationalized by Egypt at the same time. The loss of the Egyptian activity marked a turning point for the Ionian Bank. In 1957, Emporiki Bank acquired all operations of Ionian Bank and of its subsidiary Popular Bank in Greece, then merged
374-598: The Treaty of London resulted in the union of the Ionian Islands with Greece. A new charter re-established the Ionian Bank as a joint-stock company under Greek law, with the Greek government assuming its debt. That same year, the bank converted its agencies in Athens and Patras into full branches. the Ionian Bank then extended its operations to the rest of Greece. The Athens office took over as Head Office from Corfu in 1873. By 1880
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#1732776792807408-528: The Ionian Bank lost its privilege of note issue. By then, it had a network of 13 branches all over Greece. Two years later, it acquired the Constantinople branch of Guaranty Trust Co. of New York, and possibly a sub-branch or agency in Smyrna. In 1924, it continued its international expansion by opening a representative office in New York. In 1926, the Ionian Bank expanded to Cyprus by establishing
442-658: The Ionian Bank's holdings in Popular Bank. At the end of the War, the Ionian Bank regained its holdings. In 1949, it further increased its holdings in Popular Bank to four-fifths of the capital. Two years later it returned to Egypt by establishing a branch in Cairo . In 1956, in the wake of the Suez Crisis , the Egyptian government established Bank Al-Goumhouria to take over the Egyptian operations of Ionian Bank and those of
476-639: The Ionian and Popular Bank was placed under government supervision, as was the entire Emporiki group. In 1986, Ionian and Popular Bank reverted to using "Ionian Bank" as its brand identity. In 1988 it opened an office in London. Eventually, Alpha Bank announced its purchase of Ionian Bank on 26 March 1999, and absorbed it in 2000. As of 2024, most of the Ionian Bank's former buildings in Greece were still used by Alpha Bank. In Alexandria, its main branch at 41 Saad Zaghloul Street (corner of Adib Bek Ashak Street) went to
510-884: The Modern System of Fortification . and On Naval Warfare With Steam In 1797, while in Quebec City, Douglas fathered a daughter, Margaret (or Marguerite), but did not marry the mother, Catherine Normandeau. In 1799, he returned to England, and in July of that year he married Anne Dundas, daughter of James Dundas. They had ten children, Major Charles Douglas, James Dundas Douglas, Howard Douglas, General Sir Robert Percy Douglas, 4th Baronet of Carr, Reverend William Frederick Douglas, Ann Douglas, Christina Douglas, Lucy Douglas, Sarah Mary Harcourt Douglas, and Mary Douglas. Sir Howard Douglas died in Tunbridge Wells . Douglas
544-463: The Motives, Errors and Tendency of M. Carnots System of Defence , and in the following year his A Treatise on Naval Gunnery (of which numerous editions and translations appeared up to the general introduction of rifled ordnance). In 1821 he was promoted Major-General. Douglas's criticisms of Carnot led to an important experiment being carried out at Woolwich in 1822, and his Naval Gunnery became
578-624: The bank acquired Eastern Bank , giving Chartered a network of branches in Aden , Bahrain , Lebanon , Qatar and the UAE . Chartered also bought the Ionian Bank 's Cyprus Branches. In 1964, the government of Indonesia nationalised Chartered Bank's branch as a part of Konfrontasi . The branch was later merged into Bank Umum Negara, a state-owned bank. Bank Umum Negara then evolved into present-day Bank Mandiri . In 1969, Chartered Bank merged with
612-739: The bank had lost its legal monopoly on banknote issuance in the Ionian Islands, but gained a time extension of its (no longer exclusive) issuance privilege. In 1883, the Ionian Bank gave up its royal charter and registered as a limited liability company . In 1907, it opened its first Egyptian branch in Alexandria . During World War I , the Ionian Bank served Allied military interests in the Balkans , opening branches at Salonica , Syros , Chios and Mytilene . In 1916, it inaugurated its prominent new head office building designed by architect Anastasios Metaxas on Pesmazoglou Street in Athens. In 1920,
646-515: The bank's business dealt specifically with large volume discounting and re-discounting of opium and cotton bills. Although there was a gradual rise in opium cultivation in China , the imports of opium still increased from 50,087 picul in 1863 to 82,61 picul by 1888. Transactions in the opium trade generated substantial profits for Chartered Bank. Later, the Chartered Bank also became one of
680-845: The early 1900s, the bank opened offices in New York and Hamburg . When it established its New York branch in 1912, Chartered Bank became the first foreign bank to be issued a licence to operate in New York. In 1923 the Great Kanto earthquake destroyed Chartered Bank's office in Yokohama , Japan , and killed a number of its staff. In 1927 the bank acquired P&O Bank , which had offices in Colombo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Guangzhou (Canton). P&O Bank also owned Allahabad Bank . The operations of P&O Bank were merged with Chartered Bank. But Allahabad Bank continued to be run as
714-639: The former into the latter which was renamed Ionian and Popular Bank, which thus became the third-largest bank in Greece with a nationwide network of 24 branches. The Cyprus operations were sold to the Chartered Bank . Meanwhile in London, Michael Behrens and John Trusted acquired the UK-based parent entity of Ionian Bank in 1958 and converted it into a merchant bank . This London operation was never very successful and in 1977 it voluntarily gave up its banking licence , ceasing operations in 1978. In 1975,
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#1732776792807748-549: The house, together with the land on the other side of the river Mole, was laid out as a sports ground, firstly for the Distillers Company , and then for the construction group Trollope & Colls . Later the estate became the sports ground of the Standard Chartered Bank. A disastrous fire gutted the house in 1983. The ground was sold for housing development and their sports club closed. In 1957,
782-538: The name Standard Chartered . The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China—a bank incorporated in London , was founded in 1853 in London by James Wilson ; following the grant of a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria . In 1858, it opened its first branches in Calcutta , Bombay and Shanghai . The bank's operations were expanded to Hong Kong and Singapore in 1859, followed by Karachi in 1863. Chartered Bank
816-681: The north of Spain , and took part in numerous minor operations in that region, but he was soon recalled, the Home Government deeming his services indispensable to the Royal Military College. He became brevet Colonel in 1814 and CB in 1815. He became a fellow of the Royal Society on 25 January 1816. In 1816 appeared his Essay on the Principles and Construction of Military Bridges , in 1819, Observations on
850-596: The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869; and completion of Indo-European telegraph line from London to Calcutta , and its extension to China in 1871; placed most British banks (including Chartered Bank) to expand and develop its business. The bank's expansion continued to the 1900s, leading it to open branches across Asia. The bank's traditional business was in cotton from Bombay , indigo and tea from Calcutta , rice from Burma , sugar from Java , tobacco from Sumatra , hemp from Manila and silk from Yokohama . In
884-547: The people of the province. He secured a charter for King's College at Fredericton (later the University of New Brunswick ). Some subsequent light is shed on local society in his period of office in the novel Lady Rosamond's Secret. A Romance of Fredericton (1878) by the Rebecca Agatha Armour . On his return to Europe he was employed in various missions, and he published about this time Naval Evolutions ,
918-763: The principal foreign banknote-issuing institutions in Shanghai. In 1859, the bank opened a branch in Hong Kong and an agency in Singapore . In 1861, the Singapore agency was upgraded to a branch. In 1862, the bank was authorised to issue bank notes in Hong Kong ; a privilege it continues to exercise (as Standard Chartered ) to this day. Over the following decades, it printed bank notes in China and Malaya . With
952-592: The younger son of Admiral Sir Charles Douglas , and a descendant of the Earls of Morton . He was an English army general, author, colonial administrator and Member of Parliament for Liverpool . Following the death of his mother, Sarah Wood Douglas, in 1779, Howard was raised by his aunt, Helena Baillie, near Edinburgh . As a boy, he wanted to join the Royal Navy and follow in the footsteps of his father and older brother. His father agreed to take him to sea when he
986-658: Was 13, but Sir Charles died of apoplexy while in Edinburgh just after he arrived to collect Howard in 1789. Howard's guardians thought it better that he serve in the Army instead, and he entered the Royal Military Academy , Woolwich, in 1790. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in 1794, becoming Lieutenant a few months later. In 1795 he was shipwrecked while in charge of
1020-529: Was a bank incorporated in London in 1853 by Scotsman James Wilson , under a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria . Though lacking a truly strong domestic network in Britain, it was influential in the development of British colonial trade throughout the East of Suez . In 1969 Chartered Bank merged with Standard Bank, which did business throughout Africa. The merged enterprise was incorporated in London under
1054-519: Was an authority on military and naval engineering. He served intermittently as commandant of the senior department and as inspector general of instructions at the RMC. In 1804, Douglas was appointed to a majority in the York Rangers, a corps immediately afterwards reduced. He remained on the roll of its officers until promoted Major-General. The senior department of the RMC at High Wycombe , of which he
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1088-659: Was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society , and one of the founders of the Royal Geographical Society . He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford . Shortly before his death he declined the offer of a military GCB. His service as Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands is recognized by an obelisk on the island of Corfu . Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China (informally The Chartered Bank )
1122-659: Was in charge, was the forerunner of the Staff College. Douglas was promoted brevet Lieutenant-Colonel in 1806. He served in 1808–09 in the Peninsular War and was present at the Battle of Corunna , after which he took part in the Walcheren Campaign . On the death of his half-brother, Vice-Admiral Sir William Douglas in 1809, he succeeded to the baronetcy. In 1812 he was employed in special missions in
1156-649: Was keen to capitalise on the huge expansion of trade between India and China and other British possessions in Asia; and the handsome profits that could be made from financing the movement of goods from Europe to Far East . It competed with the other great British banks of that time— Oriental Bank Corporation , the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank and Mercantile Bank of India, London and China . The Shanghai branch of Chartered Bank began operation in August 1858. Initially,
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