The ''Banque d'Orient'' (, ) was a bank active in the

Eastern Mediterranean The Eastern Mediterranean is a loosely delimited region comprising the easternmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, and well as the adjoining land—often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea. It includes the southern half of Turkey ...

with seat in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. It was founded in 1904 with sponsorship by the

National Bank of Greece The National Bank of Greece (NBG; ) is a banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Athens, Greece. Founded in 1841 as the newly independent country's first financial institution, it has long been the largest Greek bank, a ...

(NBG), and eventually absorbed by NBG in 1932.

Overview

The Banque d'Orient is commonly referred to under its French name, because French was the vehicular language of the financial and business community in early-20th-century Greece and the Ottoman Empire. It was originally founded as a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

between NBG and the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

-based

Nationalbank für Deutschland Nationalbank may refer to: * Danmarks Nationalbank, the central bank of Denmark * Nationalbank für Deutschland, a bank that merged into Darmstädter und Nationalbank in 1922 * Oesterreichische Nationalbank The (, , abbr. ) is the Nationa ...

. The latter, however, sold its shares after one year to France's

Comptoir National d'Escompte de Paris The Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris (; CNEP), from 1854 to 1889 Comptoir d'escompte de Paris (CEP), was a major French bank active from 1848 to 1966. The CEP was created by decree on 10 March 1848 by the French Provisional Government, in ...

, and the Banque d'Orient sold its branches in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

to the newly established

Deutsche Orientbank The Deutsche Orientbank (DOB, ) was a German bank, founded in 1905-1906 in Berlin and merged into Dresdner Bank in 1931-1932. It was originally intended for financing ventures in the Ottoman Empire and the Khedivate of Egypt. In mid-1914 the ...

. By 1915, the Banque d'Orient had operations in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

in Egypt,

Salonica Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

in Northern Greece, and

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

in the Ottoman Empire. It had to close its Smyrna branch in 1923 as a consequence of the

Treaty of Lausanne The Treaty of Lausanne (, ) is a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–1923 and signed in the Palais de Rumine in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially resolved the conflict that had initially ...

. In 1932, in the wake of the

European banking crisis of 1931 The European banking crisis of 1931 was a major episode of financial instability that peaked with the collapse of several major banks in Austria and Germany, including Creditanstalt on , Landesbank der Rheinprovinz on , and Danat-Bank on . It ...

, the NBG took full control of the Banque d'Orient and integrated it into its operations. In the 2010s, activist , leader of the ultra-nationalist Assembly of Greeks, claimed ownership of assets from the Banque d'Orient in a publicity stunt that was quickly dismissed by the Greek authorities.

Notes

Defunct banks of Greece {{bank-stub

Overview

See also

Notes