ABSTRACT
Greece was the first East-Mediterranean state to create an issue bank in 1841, the National Bank of Greece, which as a universal bank remains the main financial services enterprise of the country. In 1914 two transnational banks were based in Greece, the Banque d'Athees and the Banque d'Orient. Most of the transnational banks perished after the First World War. Existing histories assume a linear development of transnational banking from a few French and English banks to a dozen credit establishments operating under various national flags. In order to keep a firmer grip on their overseas operations transnational banks used inspectors or they dispatched periodically to the branches some senior member of central management. Among the scenarios considered to solve the sovereignty problems linked with the fate of the Banque de Salonique was that of a merger with the National Bank of Turkey.
