The Bank of Crete ( el, Τράπεζα Κρήτης) was a commercial bank in Greece that functioned from 1980 to 1999.

History

George Koskotas George Koskotas ( el, Γιώργος Κοσκωτάς; born 1953, Athens) is a former banker and publisher who spearheaded a financial scandal that brought down the PASOK government in 1989. Early life Koskotas was born in Greece on October 5, 19 ...

bought the new established Bank of Crete in 1984. At its height, the bank operated some 86 branches in all major Greek cities and a representative office in London. Koskotas and his bank were involved in a major corruption scandal in Greece in the late 1980s. Specifically in November 1988, a shortfall of US$132 million was discovered in the Bank of Crete some months after bank chairman Koskotas, a

Greek-American Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest es ...

millionaire entrepreneur under investigation for large-scale financial crime, had fled the country. In the months that followed, alleged connections between Koskotas and the

PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...

government, and even with

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Andreas Papandreou Andreas Georgiou Papandreou ( el, Ανδρέας Γεωργίου Παπανδρέου, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek economist, politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics, known for founding the political party PASOK, wh ...

himself, brought the resignations of several ministers and demands for a

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

in the government. Papandreou was eventually acquitted of criminal charges relating to the scandal in 1992. The Bank of Crete was sold to the

Eurobank Ergasias The Eurobank Group is a financial organisation that operates in Greece, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Serbia, Bulgaria and UK. As of December 2018, the Eurobank Group counts, in assets, 653 customer service locations in Greece and abroad, and 13,162 emp ...

in a privatization in 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bank of Crete (1980-1999) Defunct banks of Greece Corruption in Greece Banks established in 1980 Banks disestablished in 1999 1999 disestablishments in Greece Greek companies established in 1980