Imperial Ottoman Bank
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The Ottoman Bank (), known from 1863 to 1925 as the Imperial Ottoman Bank (, ) and correspondingly referred to by its French acronym BIO, was a bank that played a major role in the financial history of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. By the early 20th century, it was the dominant bank in the Ottoman Empire, and one of the largest in the world. It was founded in 1856 as a British institution chartered in London, and reorganized in 1863 as a French–British venture with head office 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 ...
, on a principle of strict equality between British and French stakeholders. It soon became dominated by French interests, however, primarily because of the greater success of its offerings among French savers than British ones. In its early years, the BIO was principally a lender to the Ottoman government with a monopoly on banknote issuance and other public-interest roles, including all treasury operations of the Ottoman state under an agreement ratified in February 1875 that was however never fully implemented. In the 1890s, it pivoted to a greater emphasis on commercial and investment banking, which it developed with lasting success despite a serious crisis in 1895. Following
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the
Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas The Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas (, ), generally referred to from 1982 as Paribas (), was a French investment bank based in Paris. In May 2000, it merged with the Banque Nationale de Paris to form BNP Paribas. History Background In the ...
(known since the 1980s as Paribas) took control of the BIO, and renamed it Ottoman Bank in 1925. The bank's remaining public-interest privileges and monopolies were phased out. Its operations outside Turkey were gradually dismantled, a process that was completed in 1975. The Ottoman Bank became Turkish-owned when Garanti Bank purchased it from Paribas in 1996, and was eventually subsumed in 2001 into the Garanti Bank operations and corporate identity, in turn rebranded Garanti BBVA in 2019.


Name

During its heyday between 1863 and 1925 the bank was generally referred to using its French name, (BIO), even in English-speaking contexts. This was because French was the international language of the era and especially prominent in the business community among the many
languages of the Ottoman Empire The language of the court and government of the Ottoman Empire was Ottoman Turkish language, Ottoman Turkish, but many other languages were in contemporary use in parts of the empire. The Ottomans had three influential languages, known as "Alsin ...
. In Turkey after 1925, the bank increasingly operated under its Turkish name .


Background

The
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
had traditionally relied on credit from individual financiers known as ''sarraf'', which included not only Muslims but also
Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...
,
Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
,
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, and Levantines (long-established, mostly Catholic or Jewish families of western European descent). In the early 19th century, prominent ''sarraf'' families had coalesced into a community mainly based in the
Galata Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most nota ...
neighborhood of
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 ...
, known as the which operated as family businesses. The first formal banking establishment that was not strictly family-controlled was a joint venture between the Ottoman state and two prominent Levantine Galata bankers, Jacques Alléon and Theodore , which took the name of in 1847 but was wound up in 1852. Another project, proposed as the by French entrepreneur
Ariste Jacques Trouvé-Chauvel Ariste Jacques Trouvé-Chauvel (; 8 November 1805 – 14 October 1883) was a French businessman, banker and politician. He was briefly Minister of Finance towards the end of 1848. Early years Ariste Jacques Trouvé-Chauvel was born in La Su ...
, was considered by the Ottoman government in 1853 but not implemented. During the
Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
that started in October 1853, France and Great Britain were allied in support of the Ottoman Empire. In 1855, the two nations sent a joint mission to assess Ottoman finances, led by for France and Augustus Edward Hobart-Hampden for the UK, who would later become respectively the first and second General Managers of the Imperial Ottoman Bank in Constantinople.


London-based Ottoman Bank (1856–1863)

In early 1856, Sultan
Abdulmejid I ʻAbd al-Majīd (ALA-LC romanization of , ), also spelled as Abd ul Majid, Abd ul-Majid, Abd ol Majid, Abd ol-Majid, and Abdolmajid, is a Muslim male given name and, in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Maj ...
called for modern banks to be created in the Empire to improve its financial system and foster economic development. Three main projects emerged in response, respectively promoted by the
Rothschild family The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish noble banking family originally from Frankfurt. The family's documented history starts in 16th-century Frankfurt; its name is derived from the family house, Rothschild, ...
(in London, Paris and Vienna), the Pereire brothers (in Paris), and a group of British financiers around
Austen Henry Layard Sir Austen Henry Layard (; 5 March 18175 July 1894) was an English Assyriologist, traveller, cuneiformist, art historian, draughtsman, collector, politician and diplomat. He was born to a mostly English family in Paris and largely raised in It ...
and the private bank Glyn, Mills & Co. The Ottoman government opted for the latter, which it identified as better preserving the country's independence from western financiers in comparison with the assertive approaches of the Rothschilds and Pereires. The British project was initially conceived by two businessmen, Peter Pasquali et Stephen Sleight, who had participated earlier in 1856 in the creation of the Bank of Egypt, the first Egyptian joint-stock bank. The project benefited from the support of such influential diplomats as George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon and
Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe (4 November 1786 – 14 August 1880), was a British diplomat who became best known as the longtime British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. A cousin of George Canning, he served as Envoy ...
, in contrast to the Pereire initiative that was not much supported by French ambassador
Édouard Thouvenel Édouard is both a French given name and a surname, equivalent to Edward in English. Notable people with the name include: * Édouard Balladur (born 1929), French politician * Édouard Boubat (1923–1999), French photographer * Édouard Colonne ...
. As was customary at the time for an enterprise that would operate abroad, the British authorities sought approval from the Ottoman government, and once that was confirmed in April 1856, the bank was chartered on as an English entity with seat at 26, Old Broad Street in London. The group of financiers that supported it also included Thomas Charles Bruce, William Richard Drake, Pascoe Du Pré Grenfell, Lachlan Mackintosh Rate, and John Stewart. The Ottoman Bank then sought an issuance privilege from the Ottoman government, but the latter temporized as it preferred a solution that would combine British and French stakeholders, mirroring the Crimean War coalition. As high-ranking official
Mehmed Fuad Pasha Mehmed Fuad Pasha (1814 – February 12, 1869), sometimes known as Keçecizade Mehmed Fuad Pasha and commonly known as Fuad Pasha, was an Ottoman administrator and statesman, who is known for his prominent role in the Tanzimat reforms of the m ...
put it in May 1856 to French Ambassador Thouvenel, the
Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the buildi ...
's wish "was to perpetuate as much as possible the spirit of alliance that saved Turkey during the war, namely providing equal shares to French and English interests." Even as the Ottoman Bank started its operations and opened its first branches, Layard soon understood that a different scheme would be needed to secure the issuance privilege. In a communication to
Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...
Mustafa Reşid Pasha Mustafa Reşid Pasha (; literally ''Mustafa Reshid Pasha''; 13 March 1800 – 7 January 1858) was an Ottoman Turkish statesman and diplomat, known best as the chief architect behind the imperial Ottoman government reforms known as Tanzimat. ...
in December 1856, he outlined what would eventually be the concept of the still-to-come BIO: a head office in Constantinople, but governance by two parallel committees in London and Paris that would be accountable to the British and French shareholders. Contrary to the desires of the Ottoman authorities, however, Layard insisted that they should not control the bank's management, only conceding a "supervisor" role for a high-ranking Ottoman official. In contrast to Layard, a competing British investor group led by
Joseph Paxton Sir Joseph Paxton (3 August 1803 – 8 June 1865) was an English gardener, architect, engineer and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Member of Parliament. He is best known for designing the Crystal Palace, which was built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde ...
presented a project to establish a "Bank of Turkey" with a Governor and Vice Governor who would be both appointed by the Sublime Porte. Paxton's project was endorsed by the Ottoman government in March 1857 but, as Layard had anticipated, it failed to raise investor interest in London. A follow-up effort by some of Paxton's associates under the same name of "Bank of Turkey" started operations in 1858, but had to be placed into liquidation in 1861. Without the issuance privilege, the Ottoman Bank had modest beginnings with six staff in Constantinople (12 in 1858) and four in
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 ...
as well as a branch office in , then the main building in the Beirut Souks. It also had a branch in Galaţi in
Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
, complemented by
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
in
Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
from 1861. The bank made some poor credit allocation decisions, suffered from the 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and a financial crisis in 1861, and met hostility from the Galata bankers.


Early development as quasi-state bank (1863–1881)


Establishment of the Imperial Ottoman Bank

By early 1862, circumstances favored the reconsideration of the Ottoman Bank project. Foreign investors had grown more confident about the reforming intent of the Porte.
Mehmed Fuad Pasha Mehmed Fuad Pasha (1814 – February 12, 1869), sometimes known as Keçecizade Mehmed Fuad Pasha and commonly known as Fuad Pasha, was an Ottoman administrator and statesman, who is known for his prominent role in the Tanzimat reforms of the m ...
had become Grand Vizier and was eager to see a bank emerge with an effective banknote issuance capacity. In line with the insistent position of France's ambassador, he made clear that British–French equality of participation would remain a necessary condition for granting the issuance privilege. In response, the Ottoman bank reached out to the Pereire brothers and their Crédit Mobilier, who assembled a group of distinguished French investors. On in Paris, the British and French negotiators reached an agreement that foresaw the winding up of the Ottoman Bank and transfer of its business to a newly created institution. Negotiations in Constantinople followed in December 1862 between a group of British and French representatives, supported by the two countries' embassies, and the Ottoman authorities. As Layard had suspected in late 1856, and in spite of the replacement of Fuad by Yusuf Kamil Pasha as Grand Vizier, the compromise that was found on the new bank's governance stipulated that its formal head office, board of directors and general manager would be located in Constantinople, but that the latter would be a foreign national and ultimately report to the committees to be formed in London and Paris. The Porte would only appoint a Commissioner with limited powers of oversight. The issuance privilege would be initially granted for a duration of thirty years, and came with a full tax exemption. The bank would execute all financial operations of the Ottoman Treasury in Constantinople, and would be the government's financial agent both domestically and abroad. The bank would thus provide services of a
central bank A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...
with simultaneous commercial operations, a combination that was not unusual at the time. These arrangements were enshrined in a concession agreement which Kamil signed on together with Fuad, foreign minister
Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha Mehmed Emin Âlî Pasha, also spelled as Mehmed Emin Aali (5 March 1815 – 7 September 1871), commonly known as Ali Pasha, was a Turkish people, Turkish–Ottoman Empire, Ottoman statesman during the Tanzimat period, best known as the architec ...
, finance minister Mustafa Fazıl Pasha, and chief auditor Ahmed Vefik Pasha. On , the agreement was ratified by
firman A firman (; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods such firmans were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The English word ''firman'' co ...
of Sultan
Abdulaziz Abdulaziz (; ; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was overthrown in a government coup. He was a son of Sultan Mahmud II and succeeded his brother Abdulmejid I in 1861. Ab ...
. On , the Ottoman government registered the new Imperial Ottoman Bank which could then start its operations. That same day in London, the shareholders of the English-chartered Ottoman Bank voted to liquidate it in accordance with the November 1862 agreement, a process that was only finalized in June 1865. Meanwhile, the transfer of the old bank's operations in Constantinople to the new one had been completed on . The governance concept of the BIO was unique and unprecedented. The two committees in London and Paris were not expected to meet jointly; instead, decisions by one committee became effective once ratified by the other committee. The
annual general meeting An annual general meeting (AGM, also known as the annual meeting) is a meeting of the general membership of an organization. These organizations include membership associations and companies with shareholders. These meetings may be required ...
s of its shareholders were held in London. The original committees included: in London, Sir William Clay (chair), James Alexander, John Anderson, Thomas Charles Bruce, George T. Clark, William Richard Drake, Pascoe St Leger Grenfell, Augustus Edward Hobart-Hampden, John W. Larking, Lachlan Mackintosh Rate, and John Stewart; and in Paris, (chair), A. André, Vincent Buffarini, Raffaele de Ferrari, Achille Fould, Frédéric Greininger, Jean–Henri Hottinguer, the Pereire brothers, Alexis Pillet-Will, Casimir Salvador, and . became the first general manager in Constantinople, with Edward Gilbertson as his deputy and the local board being otherwise composed of John Stewart, representing the London and Paris committees, and local bankers Antoine Alléon and Charles Simpson Hanson.


First years of activity and convention of February 1875

The early activity of the BIO was mostly about providing financing to the Ottoman government, even though as early as August 1865 the bank's staff was concerned about the creditworthiness of its main debtor, and the BIO was by no means the only player on that market. The BIO was not entirely oblivious of the broader financing needs of the Ottoman economy, however. As a complement to its own activity of lending to the Imperial government and international financial transactions, it sponsored in 1864 the creation of a separate bank that would focus on lending to local businessmen and local government. That "younger sister", named the (SGEO, "General Company of the Ottoman Empire"), had as initial shareholders the BIO itself together with a number of Galata bankers such as Aristide , the Camondo family bank, Boghos Mısırlıoğlu, the Zafiropoulo & Zafiri partnership, and Christakis Zografos, as well as international partners Bischoffheim & Goldschmidt (Paris and London), Frühling & Göschen (London and
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
), Oppenheim, Alberti et Cie (Paris), Augustus Ralli (
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
), Stern Brothers (London), and (
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
). After a few years, however, the relations within that group deteriorated, and by the 1870s the BIO had cut most of its exposure to the SGEO, which was eventually liquidated at the expiration of its initial 30-year term in 1893, at the time when the BIO was starting to develop its own commercial and retail banking operations throughout the Empire. Also in 1864, the BIO opened a branch in
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 ...
, the main Ottoman port city where it was not already present, and another one in the Cypriot port city of
Larnaca Larnaca, also spelled Larnaka, is a city on the southeast coast of Cyprus and the capital of the Larnaca District, district of the same name. With a district population of 155.000 in 2021, it is the third largest city in the country after Nicosi ...
. In November 1865, however, the shareholders rejected plans for more ambitious branch network expansion. In 1866, political developments in the newly formed
United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (), commonly called United Principalities or Wallachia and Moldavia, was the personal union of the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia. The union was formed on when Alexa ...
led the BIO to transform its two branches there, in Galaţi (est. 1856) and
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
(est. 1861) to a local subsidiary, the Bank of Romania, while their bad assets were retained by the BIO and eventually liquidated by 1872. In October 1867, the BIO opened a branch 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 ...
, its first in the
Khedivate of Egypt The Khedivate of Egypt ( or , ; ') was an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, established and ruled by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty following the defeat and expulsion of Napoleon Bonaparte's forces which brought an end to the short- ...
. In 1868, a commercial branch was opened in Paris, first at 30, boulevard Haussmann; in 1870 it moved to the prestigious address of 7, rue Meyerbeer, facing the
Palais Garnier The (, Garnier Palace), also known as (, Garnier Opera), is a historic 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the ...
, where it would remain for more than a century. In 1868, the Ottoman Bank faced its first serious competitor with the creation of , a rival institution sponsored by France's
Société Générale Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English-speaking countries as SocGen (), is a French multinational universal bank and financial services company founded in 1864. It is registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby i ...
and several Galata bankers including the Tubini family but also Christakis Zografos and Stefanos Zafiropoulo, who had been the BIO's partners in the SGEO venture. The Crédit Général Ottoman was a major underwriter of Ottoman treasury bonds, but ceased to operate in 1899. Two other competitors were promoted soon afterwards by
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
, namely the Austro-Ottoman Bank (, ) sponsored by the Anglo-Austrian Bank and
Wiener Bankverein The Wiener Bankverein or Bank-Verein (WBV, ) was a major bank in the Habsburg Monarchy and the First Austrian Republic, founded in 1869. In 1888 it was the fourth-largest bank of Austria-Hungary by market capitalization, behind the Austro-Hunga ...
in 1871, and the Austro-Turkish Bank (, sometimes ) in 1872. Neither survived the financial turmoil of the 1870s; the Austro-Ottoman Bank was merged into the BIO in 1874. The Ottoman state's continued financial challenges led successive grand viziers Mehmed Rushdi Pasha and
Hüseyin Avni Pasha Hüseyin Avni Pasha (; 1820 – 15 June 1876) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turkish people, Turkish governor-general and politician, statesman. He was Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 15 February 1874 to 26 April 1875. He was killed b ...
to seek an expansion of the role of the BIO by making it the operator of all imperial treasury operations, including all revenue collection, expenditures, and short-term funding, with the aim to restore confidence in the state's financial discipline and thus improve its access to credit. The Porte sent senior official Mehmed Sadık Pasha to Paris to negotiate the new convention in April 1874, and the text was promptly signed there on . It stipulated that the bank would operate the Ottoman treasury in all provinces where it had a branch, and would open new branches where it was not already present. The BIO would receive a fee of 0.75 percent on all government financial transactions, and 1 percent on short-term government debt issuance. The BIO subsequently absorbed the Austro-Ottoman Bank at the Porte's request, and led a major Ottoman bond issuance in several phases, later in 1874 and early 1875. Nevertheless, the convention of May 1874 became an object of controversy in Constantinople, not least among foreign powers other than France and the UK, namely the
German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
and especially the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
. It was renegotiated into an amended version, which was signed on and promptly ratified by Sultan Abdulaziz, with a reduction of the BIO's commission on treasury operations from 0.75 to 0.5 percent. The creation of new branches was a generally loss-making proposition for the BIO and consequently fell well short of the convention's stated ambitions, with only three new locations opened in 1875 in
Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...
,
Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...
and
Ruscuk Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; ) is the fifth-largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, approximately south of Bucharest, Ro ...
plus a sub-office of the Beirut branch in
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
. More generally, the implementation of the convention and of the BIO's new role quickly ran into practical difficulties and opposition from local government officials, compounded by the dismissal in late April 1875 of its champion Hüseyin Avni Pasha. The BIO syndicated a number of new loans throughout 1875 but retained little of them on its own balance sheet.


Crisis of 1875–1881

Starting with the Herzegovina uprising in July 1875, the
Great Eastern Crisis The Great Eastern Crisis of 1875–1878 began in the Ottoman Empire's Rumelia, administrative territories in the Balkan Peninsula in 1875, with the outbreak of several uprisings and wars that resulted in the intervention of international powers, ...
resulted in renewed financial stress. On , grand vizier Mahmud Nedim Pasha unilaterally decided and announced a change in the terms of reimbursement of the recent loans, without consulting the BIO, and later in 1875 the Ottoman authorities suspended the implementation of the February convention altogether. The Empire's security situation kept deteriorating with the
April Uprising of 1876 The April Uprising () was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876. The rebellion was suppressed by irregular military, irregular Ottoman bashi-bazouk units that engaged in indiscriminate slaught ...
in
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
and the declaration of Serbian–Ottoman War in June 1876, as well as the successive depositions of Sultan Abdulaziz on and of his nephew and short-lived successor
Murad V Murad V (; ; 21 September 1840 – 29 August 1904) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 30 May to 31 August 1876. The son of Abdulmejid I, he supported the conversion of the government to a constitutional monarchy. His uncle Abdulaziz ...
on . In 1876 and 1877, the authorities fueled inflation by issuing new
Ottoman lira The pound or lira (sign: LT; ; ; ; ; ) was the currency of the Ottoman Empire from 1844 until 1927, when it was replaced by the Turkish lira. Although the Ottoman Empire was abolished in 1922, the Ottoman lira remained in circulation until the ...
s in the form of
paper currency Paper money, often referred to as a note or a bill (North American English), is a type of negotiable promissory note that is payable to the bearer on demand, making it a form of currency. The main types of paper money are government notes, which ...
or ''kaime'', as they had done during the Crimean War, which were later repurchased at a depreciated rate. On , Russia in turn
declared war A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the public signing of a document) by an authorized party of a national govern ...
on the Ottoman empire. Following protracted negotiations in London, the BIO led a new loan backed by the tribute from the
Khedivate of Egypt The Khedivate of Egypt ( or , ; ') was an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, established and ruled by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty following the defeat and expulsion of Napoleon Bonaparte's forces which brought an end to the short- ...
, which was partly released from its pledging as collateral for prior Ottoman borrowing in 1854 and 1871, but its placement failed in December 1877 following Ottoman military setbacks at the Battle of Kars and the
Siege of Plevna The siege of Plevna or Pleven, was a major battle of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, fought by the joint army of the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Romania against the Ottoman Empire. After the Russian army crossed the Danube at ...
. During that turbulent period, the BIO reduced its activity and cost base and suspended dividends, while its claims on the Ottoman state ballooned. In the spring of 1878, following the
Treaty of San Stefano The 1878 Preliminary Treaty of San Stefano (; Peace of San-Stefano, ; Peace treaty of San-Stefano, or ) was a treaty between the Russian and Ottoman empires at the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. It was signed at San Ste ...
and cessation of hostilities, the BIO lobbied for a resolution of the Ottoman public debt situation to be considered at the
Congress of Berlin At the Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878), the major European powers revised the territorial and political terms imposed by the Russian Empire on the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of San Stefano (March 1878), which had ended the Rus ...
. The chairman of its Paris committee, , suggested to French foreign minister William Waddington a new organization on the model of the
Caisse de la Dette The Caisse de la Dette Publique ("Public Debt Commission", ) was an international commission established by a decree issued by Khedive Isma'il of Egypt on 2 May 1876 to supervise the payment by the Egyptian government of the loans to the European g ...
that had been established in 1876 for Egypt, but with greater consideration of Ottoman sensitivities. The Treaty of Berlin of partly addressed the debt challenge by establishing revenue flows from the newly independent territories (
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
,
Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...
,
Eastern Rumelia Eastern Rumelia (; ; ) was an autonomous province (''oblast'' in Bulgarian, ''vilayet'' in Turkish) of the Ottoman Empire with a total area of , which was created in 1878 by virtue of the Treaty of Berlin (1878), Treaty of Berlin and ''de facto'' ...
and
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
), thus supporting the payment of the Ottoman public debt and
war reparations War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. War reparations can take the form of hard currency, precious metals, natural resources, in ...
. By convention of the Ottoman authorities farmed out six revenue streams to a BIO-led syndicate for a duration of ten years, namely
stamp duty Stamp duty is a tax that is levied on single property purchases or documents (including, historically, the majority of legal documents such as cheques, receipts, military commissions, marriage licences and land transactions). Historically, a ...
, taxes on alcohols, on fishing in Constantinople, on silk in four provinces, and the salt and tobacco monopolies, the latter two being by far the largest. This pledging of the so-called six contributions was widely understood as a stopgap measure pending a comprehensive solution to the debt problem, which the BIO kept advocating. The war and its aftermath affected the BIO's network. In Bulgaria, the recently created branch in Ruscuk was transferred in May 1877 to
Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...
. Its activity restarted in 1878 but was then again transferred to Varna. The BIO considered building it up into a national bank, as it had done in Romania in 1866, but that project failed given the new country's instability, and the Varna branch closed in 1882. Meanwhile, immediately after the Berlin Congress created
Eastern Rumelia Eastern Rumelia (; ; ) was an autonomous province (''oblast'' in Bulgarian, ''vilayet'' in Turkish) of the Ottoman Empire with a total area of , which was created in 1878 by virtue of the Treaty of Berlin (1878), Treaty of Berlin and ''de facto'' ...
in 1878, the BIO opened a branch in the capital Philippopoli (later
Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...
). As
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
came under British rule, the BIO promptly opened branches in
Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...
and
Limassol Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...
in 1879 to serve the new authorities on the island, with a dominant position despite local competition from the Anglo-Egyptian Bank. In the
Khedivate of Egypt The Khedivate of Egypt ( or , ; ') was an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, established and ruled by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty following the defeat and expulsion of Napoleon Bonaparte's forces which brought an end to the short- ...
, the BIO opened a branch in
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
in early 1881, and its main branch in Alexandria withstood the riots during the
ʻUrabi revolt The ʻUrabi revolt, also known as the ʻUrabi Revolution (), was a nationalist uprising in the Khedivate of Egypt from 1879 to 1882. It was led by and named for Colonel Ahmed Urabi and sought to depose the khedive, Tewfik Pasha, and end Imperial ...
in 1882. Negotiations on the Ottoman debt eventually started in Constantinople on , and led to the agreement known by its ratification instrument, the Decree of Muharram of , which closed the period of financial distress that had started in 1875. It created the
Ottoman Public Debt Administration The Ottoman Public Debt Administration (OPDA) (, or simply ''Düyun-u Umumiye'' as it was popularly known, , ), was a European-controlled organization that was established in 1881 to collect the payments which the Ottoman Empire owed to European ...
under a council of seven members, of which one was to be appointed by the BIO and to represent the signatories of the convention of November 1879, whose claims were reduced in line with the decree's general debt restructuring. Meanwhile, the BIO endeavored to implement its role of treasurer under the convention of February 1875, which in principle was still applicable, in a limited number of locations such as Bursa, Damascus, Edirne, Salonica, and Smyrna. It restarted distributing dividends from 1880.


Expansion into commercial and investment banking (1881–1911)


Investment projects

During the turmoil of the 1870s, and despite French hostility to Germany following defeat in the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
, the BIO started reaching out to Austrian and German partners. Its acquisition of the Austro-Ottoman Bank in 1874 had given it connections in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, and in 1881 it entered an informal partnership with banks Creditanstalt of Vienna and S. Bleichröder of Berlin to invest in joint projects, which became known as the "Consortium". Their first venture was to form a company to sell tobacco products, for which they obtained assent from the Ottoman Public Debt Administration which held rights over tobacco revenue, formed an entity known as in 1883, and secured a thirty-year monopoly from 1884. The Régie or Ottoman Tobacco Company had a difficult start fighting smuggling, but became prominent enough that it shared half of the new head office building that the BIO had erected for itself in
Galata Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most nota ...
in 1892. From 1882, the Consortium sought to develop railways in the European part of the Ottoman Empire, or
Rumelia Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and Vassal state, vassals in E ...
, with the aim to connect Constantinople to Vienna. The Ottoman government in 1869 had granted the concession for what was known as the
Chemins de fer Orientaux The Chemins de fer Orientaux (English: Oriental Railway; or ''İstanbul-Viyana Demiryolu'') (reporting mark: CO) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman railway company operating in Rumelia (the European part of the Ottoman Empire, corresponding to the ...
to international financier
Maurice de Hirsch Moritz Freiherr von Hirsch auf Gereuth (; ; 9 December 1831 – 21 April 1896), commonly known as Maurice de Hirsch, was a German Jewish financier and philanthropist who set up charitable foundations to promote Jewish education and improve the ...
, who did not start the works and in 1882 approached the BIO with the aim to exit the venture. After several years of negotiations, the BIO in 1885 led the formation of the , which pledged to build railway lines to the respective borders of Bulgaria and Serbia. Eventually, Hirsch sold his concession in 1890 to a group formed by
Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...
and
Wiener Bankverein The Wiener Bankverein or Bank-Verein (WBV, ) was a major bank in the Habsburg Monarchy and the First Austrian Republic, founded in 1869. In 1888 it was the fourth-largest bank of Austria-Hungary by market capitalization, behind the Austro-Hunga ...
in which the BIO was given a 25 percent stake, most of which it sold on to other investors including the Comptoir d'Escompte de Paris and
Société Générale Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English-speaking countries as SocGen (), is a French multinational universal bank and financial services company founded in 1864. It is registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby i ...
. This initiated an informal partnership between the BIO and Deutsche Bank, which gradually replaced the Consortium especially after Gerson von Bleichröder died in 1893. The BIO was involved in early considerations of a railway from
Haydarpaşa railway station Haydarpaşa station () is a railway station in Istanbul, that was, until 2012 the main city terminal for trains travelling to and from the Anatolian side of Turkey. It used to be Turkey's busiest railway station. (Its counterpart on the European ...
, on the Asian side of Constantinople, to Anatolia and ultimately to
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
, which would later be known as part of the Berlin–Baghdad railway. In 1888, it formed a group of investors to this effect together with Bleichröder and the
Disconto-Gesellschaft The Disconto-Gesellschaft (, full name Direktion der Disconto-Gesellschaft) was a significant German bank, founded in Berlin in 1851. It was one of the largest German banking organizations until its 1929 merger into Deutsche Bank. History The ...
in Berlin, but Deutsche Bank won a competing concession later that year and the BIO redirected its focus to railway projects in the Levant and Syria. From 1888, the BIO was involved in the creation of the to develop the
Port of Beirut The Port of Beirut () is the main port in Lebanon on the eastern part of the Saint George Bay on Beirut's northern Mediterranean coast, west of the Beirut River. It is one of the largest and busiest ports on the Eastern Mediterranean. On 4 Augu ...
together with the led by Edmond de Perthuis. This was the first time the BIO acted in close coordination with the French government, which promoted the project. Construction works were completed in 1894, including the demolition of the ancient Beirut Castle, and the new port facility started operations on . In 1891, the BIO participated in the creation of the to build a railway connecting Beirut with
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
and the
Hauran The Hauran (; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, to the northeast by the al-Safa field, to the east and south by the Harrat ...
region to its south, with the main Beirut–Damascus branch completed in June 1895. Further northwards extensions, however, turned out to be commercially and financially problematic, despite pressure from the French government to counter the German-sponsored Berlin–Baghdad railway. The rebranded eventually built a line to
Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...
in 1902, prolonged to
Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
in 1906 and completed by an east–west branch between
Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...
and Tripoli in 1911. In 1906, the BIO relocated its Beirut branch to a new building on the port's waterfront. In May 1899 in Berlin, the BIO and the
Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...
agreed on a joint approach for the railway project toward Baghdad, which would unfold and unravel in subsequent years. On in Paris, the two institutions agreed to form a financing syndicate, an operating company and a construction company to execute the project. On , a final act of concession was signed in Constantinople. But the project was conditional on attracting an international set of investors including a group from the UK, which failed to materialized in April 1903 because of negative British public perceptions about participation in a German-led endeavor. Through negotiations in Berlin in June, the BIO and Deutsche Bank produced a revised concept that maintained the appearance of equality between France and Germany, but given the tense relationship between the two countries, that was refused by both governments later in June. The railway to Baghdad ended up dominated by German and affiliated interests, with only limited participation by the BIO. The BIO participated in the construction of the railway from Constantinople to Salonica from 1892 to 1896 (the greater part of which later became the Thessaloniki–Alexandroupoli railway), but with no large financial commitment as it correctly anticipated that the line would not be profitable. From 1894 to 1897 it led the development of the railway from
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 ...
to
Afyonkarahisar Afyonkarahisar (, 'poppy, opium', ''kara'' 'black', ''hisar'' 'fortress') is a major city in western Turkey. It is the administrative centre of Afyonkarahisar Province and Afyonkarahisar District. Its population is 251,799 (2021). Afyon is in the ...
, known as Smyrne Cassaba & Prolongements. In 1896, the BIO played a major role in the establishment of a coal mining company in Heraclea on the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
shore, now
Karadeniz Ereğli Karadeniz Ereğli (or Ereğli) is a city in Zonguldak Province of Turkey on the Black Sea shore. It is the seat of Ereğli District.
, the main coal mine in Asia Minor.


Sovereign debt management and the liquidity crisis of late 1895

During the 1880s, 1890s and 1900s, the BIO kept its dominant role in orchestrating the financing of the Ottoman government, but reduced the exposures it retained on its own balance sheet. In 1886, it agreed on a restructuring of its outstanding loans to the government. It subsequently restarted short-term lending to the Ottoman treasury, but attempted to limit the corresponding amounts, which generated serious friction with finance minister
Hagop Kazazian Pasha in the late 1880s. In October 1889, the BIO sought a new impetus by appointing Edgar Vincent as managing director for a term of five years. In March 1890, the BIO accepted a new restructuring of its lending to the government, and went on to work out other segments of the Ottoman debt legacy under favorable credit conditions in the early 1890s. It sponsored financial affiliates in third countries for purposes of financial arbitrage, namely the
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
-based in 1892 (joint venture with Union Financière de Genève), and the
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
-registered in 1896, which was actually managed from Paris. Starting in 1894, the BIO invested in South African gold mines. The rapid expansion of these and other BIO exposures led to an incipient
bank run A bank run or run on the bank occurs when many Client (business), clients withdraw their money from a bank, because they believe Bank failure, the bank may fail in the near future. In other words, it is when, in a fractional-reserve banking sys ...
at Constantinople in early November 1895, following a market downturn in London, but that was promptly put to an end by a show of support by the Ottoman government including a 12-year extension of the BIO's convention term, from 1913 to 1925. The BIO subsequently reorganized its management to make it less centralized, placing the branch network under deputy general manager Gaston Auboyneau, and sharply reduced its exposures to railway projects and those in a number of branches. The late-1895 liquidity crisis was the most severe experienced by the BIO so far, but also eliminated many of its local competitors including several of the remaining Galata bankers. In the 1900s, the bank was continuously involved in efforts to work out the Ottoman public debt, including the negotiation of a restructuring enshrined in the decree of together with the Comptoir National d'Escompte de Paris and the Banque Française pour le Commerce et l'Industrie. The deterioration of security in the three Ottoman provinces of Macedonia (Salonica, Monastir and
Üsküb Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultural center of ...
) during the period of
Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts that were mainly fought between Greek and Bulgarian subjects who lived in Ottoman Macedonia between 1893 and 1912. From 1904 to 1908 the conflict was p ...
led the Western powers to request administrative reforms in the region. Rather than having to countenance yet more foreign intervention, Sultan
Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...
in early 1905 asked the BIO to take over the full treasury service in the three Macedonian provinces along the terms of the convention of February 1875, which had never been formally abrogated.


Commercial and retail banking

Simultaneously as he led the financial relationship with the Ottoman government in the early 1890s, Edgar Vincent initiated a program of opening new branch offices, particularly in Anatolia and beyond, as previously considered in 1865 and 1874 but never before implemented at scale. The BIO restarted a network in
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
beyond the branch in Philippopoli that had opened in 1878, opening in
Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
in 1890 and (once again) in Ruse in 1892. From 1891, the BIO started opening savings accounts for retail customers in Turkey (and a bit earlier in Egypt). The 1890s were the time when the BIO's banknotes started circulating widely throughout the empire, instead of being largely confined to use in Constantinople as had been the case until then. On , the BIO's new head office in
Galata Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most nota ...
, inaugurated on , was the scene of a dramatic episode, remembered as the occupation of the Ottoman Bank. Activists of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenians, Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, Literal translation, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalism, Armenian nationalist a ...
stormed the building to draw international attention to the plight of
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire Armenians were a significant minority in the Ottoman Empire. They belonged to either the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, or the Armenian Protestant Church, each church serving as the basis of a millet. They played a ...
that were the targets of the
Hamidian massacres The Hamidian massacres also called the Armenian massacres, were massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the mid-1890s. Estimated casualties ranged from 100,000 to 300,000, Akçam, Taner (2006) '' A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide a ...
. The bank's managers negotiated their safe exit and transfer to
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
. Even so, the attack left eight dead and fourteen wounded among the Armenian activists, the Ottoman police, the bank's staff and clients. In the late 1890s, the Bulgarian government requested the transformation of the BIO's branches in the country into a fully fledged local bank. The BIO attempted to create a "Bank of Sofia" with support from Bleichröder and Berliner Disconto-Gesellschaft, but that did not succeed and all three Bulgarian locations were liquidated in 1899. In 1903, the BIO was again the target of an action intended to shock Western European public opinion, this time by Bulgarian nationalists participating in the
Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts that were mainly fought between Greek and Bulgarian subjects who lived in Ottoman Macedonia between 1893 and 1912. From 1904 to 1908 the conflict was p ...
. The Boatmen of Thessaloniki, an anarchist group, bombed the bank's branch in
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 ...
and adjacent buildings on , killing a night guard, as part of a two-day campaign of terrorist attacks that also damaged railways and a French passenger ship. The bank was able to reopen on a nearby location on . In 1903, the Cairo Stock Exchange was first established under leadership of businessman Moïse Yacoub (Moussa) Cattaui, in the former BIO branch building on what is now Adly Street. From 1904 on, the BIO was able to accelerate the expansion of its branch network, including in Egypt. One of the BIO's aims in opening new branches was to preempt competition from new peers such as the
Banque de Salonique The Bank of Salonica (, , ) was a regional bank headquartered in Thessaloniki (then known as Salonica) and Istanbul. Created in 1886 under the initial leadership of the History of the Jews in Thessaloniki, Salonica Jewish Allatini family with Au ...
in Macedonia. Unlike in the past, the new branches quickly generated profits, and the BIO's commercial banking operations became increasingly dominant in its overall activity.


Years of turmoil (1911–1925)


Wars in Libya and the Balkans

From the start of the
Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...
in September 1911, the Ottoman Empire entered a protracted period of near-continuous military engagements which put yet more strain on its finances. The BIO's role in the state's financing became less central, in part because of rising competition from the
Banque de Salonique The Bank of Salonica (, , ) was a regional bank headquartered in Thessaloniki (then known as Salonica) and Istanbul. Created in 1886 under the initial leadership of the History of the Jews in Thessaloniki, Salonica Jewish Allatini family with Au ...
(despite the acquisition by the BIO of a minority stake in 1911), the Deutsche Orientbank, created in 1906 by three German competitors of Deutsche Bank, and the National Bank of Turkey, created in 1909 by financier
Ernest Cassel Sir Ernest Joseph Cassel, (3 March 1852 – 21 September 1921) was a British merchant banker and businessman. Born and raised in Prussia, he moved to England at the age of 17. Life and career Cassel was born in Cologne, in the Rhine Provinc ...
. Following Ottoman setbacks in the
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
, the BIO and
Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...
successfully lobbied to avoid the imposition of war reparations on the Empire in the treaties of
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
and
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 ...
, but did not obtain a reduction of the Ottoman debt in proportion to the Empire's territorial losses.


Branch network in 1914

The early years of the war period did not interrupt the rapid expansion of the BIO's branch network, with 31 openings from 1908 to 1914, despite the closing of
Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...
and Tripoli following Italy's victory in
Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
. An advert of early 1914 lists 83 branches, sub-branches and offices, in addition to the three head office locations of Galata, London and Paris: * 4 in the remaining Ottoman lands in Europe: Stamboul (now Eminönü, opened 1886) and Pera (Beyoğlu), Pera (now İstiklal Avenue 115/A, 1891) 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 ...
;
Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...
(1875) and Rodosto/Tekirdağ (1909) in East Thrace; * 42 in Ottoman Anatolia:
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 ...
(1856), Aydın (1863),
Afyonkarahisar Afyonkarahisar (, 'poppy, opium', ''kara'' 'black', ''hisar'' 'fortress') is a major city in western Turkey. It is the administrative centre of Afyonkarahisar Province and Afyonkarahisar District. Its population is 251,799 (2021). Afyon is in the ...
(1863–1880 and reopened 1899), Adalia/Antalya (1869),
Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...
(1875), Nazilli (1881, with interruption 1898–1905), Adana and Konya (1889), Denizli (1890), Balıkesir, Uşak, Samsun and Trabzon (1891), Mersin (1892), Ankara (1893), Castambol/Kastamonu and Sivas (1899), Eskişehir and Akşehir (1904), Panderma/Bandırma and Bilecik (1905), Erzurum, Kerassunde/Giresun, Kütahya and Aintab/Gaziantep (1906), Adapazarı (1907), Tarsus (city), Tarsus (1908), Césarée/Kayseri, İnebolu, Ordu, Geyve and Bolvadin (1910), Diyarbakır, Kharput/Mamuret-el-Aziz/Elazığ, Bitlis, Van, Turkey, Van and Djihan/Ceyhan (1911), Bolu, Urfa, Sandıklı and Sokia/Söke (1912), and Dardanelles/Çanakkale (1914); * 15 in the Arab-speaking Ottoman territories: Beirut (1856),
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
(1875),
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
(1892),
Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
and Bassorah (1893), Tripoli (1904), Jaffa and Jerusalem (1905), Haifa (1906), Mosul (1907),
Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...
(1908), Sidon and Hodeida (1911), Jeddah (1912), and
Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...
(1914?); * 3 in the
Khedivate of Egypt The Khedivate of Egypt ( or , ; ') was an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, established and ruled by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty following the defeat and expulsion of Napoleon Bonaparte's forces which brought an end to the short- ...
:
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 ...
(1866), Port Said (1872), and
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
(1881); * 4 in British Cyprus:
Larnaca Larnaca, also spelled Larnaka, is a city on the southeast coast of Cyprus and the capital of the Larnaca District, district of the same name. With a district population of 155.000 in 2021, it is the third largest city in the country after Nicosi ...
(1862),
Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...
and
Limassol Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...
(1879), and Famagusta (1906); * 14 in European and Aegean territories lost by the Ottoman Empire during the
Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...
and
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
of 1911–1913: Shkodër in the fledgling Principality of Albania; Dedeağaç/Alexandroupoli (1904), Xanthi (1906), Gyumyurdjina/Komotini and Soufli (1910) in the Kingdom of Bulgaria;
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 ...
(1863), Mytilini (1898), Kavala (1904), Drama, Greece, Drama, Serres and Ioannina (1910) in the Kingdom of Greece; Rhodes (1911) in the Kingdom of Italy; and Monastir/Bitola and Üsküb/Skopje (1903) in the Kingdom of Serbia; * 1 in the UK: Manchester (1911). In April 1914, the BIO sold its Macedonian branches of Monastir/Bitola and Üsküb/Skopje to the Banque Franco-Serbe (BFS), established in 1910 and in which the BIO had an equity interest. Facing hostility from the Bulgarian government which had taken over Dedeagac, Gyumyurdjina and Xanthi, it had to liquidate all three branches. It also closed the branch in Shkodër in October 1914 following local turmoil. Some of the bank's branches hosted other public services. For example, the BIO branch in the eastern Anatolian city of Van, Turkey, Van also served as the local office of the Ottoman Tobacco Company, the
Ottoman Public Debt Administration The Ottoman Public Debt Administration (OPDA) (, or simply ''Düyun-u Umumiye'' as it was popularly known, , ), was a European-controlled organization that was established in 1881 to collect the payments which the Ottoman Empire owed to European ...
, and the .


World War I

On , the Ottoman Empire entered
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
against France and the UK. By then, three-quarters of the BIO's shareholders were French, the rest were mostly British, and its most senior managers were nationals from the two countries. Its seats in London and Paris were not treated harshly by the respective governments, but they were forbidden from transacting with the head office which was now in enemy territory. Conversely, London and Paris kept control of the bank's operations on allied ground, including Egypt, Cyprus, northern Greece, and territories conquered from the Ottomans such as Basra from February 1915, Mytilene from June 1917, and Palestine from January 1918, as well as Trabzon during its occupation by Russian forces. The BIO opened a branch in
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
in 1916 to centralize the relations with France of its branches in Egypt and Greece. In Cyprus, nominally an Ottoman province but administered by the UK since 1878, the island was annexed in immediate response to the Ottoman declaration of war in November 1914. A run left the BIO's local operation with less than £4,000 in its vaults, and no means of replenishing its reserves from the head office in Constantinople. The bank was briefly closed by the island's British authorities and then allowed to re-open effectively as a separate semi-state company. In part this compromise seems to have been reached as the British authorities in Cyprus had themselves deposited their entire funds at the BIO, some £40,000, which would have been lost had the bank been forced to close. In Constantinople, the BIO declined to further finance the government, and unilaterally renounced its issuance privilege, leaving the Ottoman authorities to issue paper money as they had already done in the late 1870s. On , with no hope of receiving more credit from the BIO, Talaat Pasha, Talaat Bey requested the replacement of the three French senior executives (namely Arthur Nias, Louis Steeg, and Isidore Dupuis) with their most senior colleagues who were Ottoman nationals, namely Georges Cartali, Marius Hanemoglou, and Berç Türker Keresteciyan, Berch Kerestejian. Nias instructed the latter to act as a collegial leadership, before traveling back to France together with Dupuis and Steeg. The other British, French, Italian and Russian employees of the BIO were generally allowed to keep their jobs. A later attempt by Talaat Bey to nationalize the BIO failed in July 1915, in part due to opposition from
Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...
with which the BIO had a longstanding partnership, and to advocacy by Mehmed Cavid that the BIO's survival as a credible institution was in the Ottoman state's longer-term interest. The ways the war affected individual branches were extremely diverse. In eastern Anatolia and elsewhere, the BIO's leadership led by Cartali managed to obtain exemptions for many of its Armenian staff from the Armenian genocide. The BIO's staff in Syria and Mesopotamia were also able to provide some financial services to deported Armenians despite the hostile environment. Throughout the war, the BIO kept processing the local financial transactions of the Ottoman government through its unparalleled network of branches, which made it easier to secure protection for its staff. It mostly refrained, however, from new lending business to either the government or the private sector, which led to a considerable erosion of its market share.


Postwar adjustments and change of control

Following the end of World War I, the BIO determined that its former activity as a state bank had limited prospects, and that its future lay in the expansion of retail, commercial and investment banking services in the eastern Mediterranean. Instead of relocating its head office to France as it had briefly considered in 1918, the BIO decided to leverage its international identity and to re-emphasize the complementarity between London and Paris in its governance, even though by then only about a tenth of its shareholding base was British. It even envisaged co-opting some American nationals into its London and Paris committees. It regrouped the direction of its activities in Cyprus, Palestine, Mesopotamia and Arabia in London, which already had a leading role for Egypt. The BIO opened a branch in Tunis in 1920, and three branches in Persia, namely Kermanshah (1920), Hamadan and Tehran (both in 1922). Between 1919 and 1923, it made an abortive attempt to expand into the South Caucasus region with branches in Baku, Batumi, and Tbilisi. The BIO, however, declined in May 1920 the suggestion to be the anchor investor in a new state bank of the First Republic of Armenia, promoted by Calouste Gulbenkian. In Cyprus and the near east the BIO further opened branches in Paphos (1918), Kirkuk (1920), and Troodos Mountains, Troödos (1921), Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Nablus (1922), in the Musky neighborhood of
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
and in Ismailia (1924), Amman (1925), and Tel Aviv (1931). Conversely, it had to close both its branches in Arabia (Jeddah and Hodeida) and many in Albania, northern Greece and the Aegean (Shkodër, Ioannina, Serres, Drama, Komotini, Mytilene, and Rhodes). In the Levant, following the secret Sykes–Picot Agreement of 1916, the French authorities pressured the BIO to transform its branches in the territories under French influence into a separate subsidiary. On , the BIO consequently sponsored the establishment of a new Banque de Syrie, of which it initially held 94.45 percent ownership and which opened operations in Marseille and Beirut in April 1919. The situation in the region remained uncertain, however, until the French authorities expelled Faisal I of Iraq, Emir Faisal from Syria in July 1920. Subsequently in 1921, the Banque de Syrie acquired from the BIO all its branches in the region, while the BIO sold some of its shares to local business leaders. In October 1920, the
Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas The Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas (, ), generally referred to from 1982 as Paribas (), was a French investment bank based in Paris. In May 2000, it merged with the Banque Nationale de Paris to form BNP Paribas. History Background In the ...
(BPPB), together with the Banque Industrielle de Chine, the Crédit Foncier d'Algérie et de Tunisie, and Basil Zaharoff's , acquired a significant block of BIO shares from a group of investors who had tried and failed to force the creation of an Italian constituency in the BIO's governance. After initial misgivings in both Paris and London, the BPPB thus became the BIO's controlling shareholder. It would maintain that position until 1996. In the BIO's core area of operations, the Turkish War of Independence disrupted its business until the return of peace with the Treaty of Lausanne in July 1923. During the war, the BIO endeavored to keep a position of neutrality and instructed its branches to cooperate with whichever forces were in control of the territory, while temporarily closing them if the local conditions made business entirely impossible. Its branch building in Smyrna, by then located on the waterfront, was entirely destroyed by fire on during the Burning of Smyrna. Some branches such as Aydın,
Afyonkarahisar Afyonkarahisar (, 'poppy, opium', ''kara'' 'black', ''hisar'' 'fortress') is a major city in western Turkey. It is the administrative centre of Afyonkarahisar Province and Afyonkarahisar District. Its population is 251,799 (2021). Afyon is in the ...
, Erzurum and Kütahya only reopened in late 1923.


Normalization in Turkey

Following its victory of the Turkish War of Independence, the Turkey, Republic of Turkey signed a convention with the BIO on , under which it provided credit to the new Republican government in Ankara as well as its two banking champions, Ziraat Bank and the newly established İşbank. The BIO did not resume note issuance but agreed to continue servicing the financial operations of the public treasury, pending the creation of a new national bank, which only came in 1931 with the establishment of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. In line with the new circumstances, the bank's name was changed back to Ottoman Bank in May 1925; even so, it was the only institution allowed to keep the word "Ottoman" in its name. Two other conventions, respectively in 1933 and 1952, led to the full normalization of the Ottoman Bank's status as a commercial bank. In 1947, it redeemed its last circulating banknotes (all issued before 1914) and reimbursed them in gold at par, an achievement unmatched by any other note-issuing bank since the beginning of World War I.


Ottoman Bank (1925–2001)


French and British groups

Under the direction of the BPPB, the Ottoman Bank kept its dual British–French structure with individual country operations allocated to one or the other of the two committees. The Turkish bank itself and its subsidiaries in Syria, Lebanon and Yugoslavia remained under the Paris Committee. The London Committee managed the existing network in Cyprus and Egypt, and led new developments in Jordan (1925), Sudan (1949), Qatar (1956), Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rhodesia (1958), Abu Dhabi (1962), and Oman (1969). Increasingly, this resulted in a bifurcation of the Ottoman Bank into two mutually autonomous groups. The French group was gradually reduced to the Turkish operations of the Ottoman Bank. The Banque Franco-Serbe was nationalized by Yugoslavia in 1939. The Banque de Syrie et du Liban, formed in 1919 to take over the former BIO branches in those countries, had its Syrian activity nationalized in 1956 following the Suez Crisis, and merged into the state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria in 1966. The Lebanese operation lost its issuance privilege in 1963 following the creation of the country's central bank, the Banque du Liban; As for the British group, the bank further opened branches in Egypt (El-Geneifa in the Sinai Peninsula, Sinai in 1940, Port Tewfik in 1941, El Mahalla El Kubra in 1942, Fayoum and Tanta in 1947), Cyprus (Kyrenia in 1943, Lefka and Morphou in 1946), as well as in West Jerusalem (1947), Erbil (1948), Khartoum and Port Sudan (1949). In 1956, Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized all Ottoman Bank operations in Egypt, and transferred them to the purpose-created Bank Al-Goumhouria together with those of Ionian Bank. The Ottoman Bank nevertheless kept opening new branches, in Qatar (1956), Abu Dhabi (1962), and Muscat (1969). In 1969, the BPPB sold all these remaining operations of the London-led group to National and Grindlays Bank. In 1975, Grindlays also purchased the Paris commercial branch and affiliated operations in Switzerland, which were renamed Grindlays Banque - France. Grindlays, in turn, was acquired in 1984 by the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. As of 1991, Paribas held nearly half of the total equity capital of the Ottoman Bank, the rest being dispersed among many shareholders.


Merger into Garanti Bank

In 1996, Paribas ceded its control of the Ottoman Bank to Garanti Bank, by then a fully-owned subsidiary of the Doğuş Group. On , Garanti merged the Ottoman Bank with , and on , integrated it fully into its own operations. This led to the disappearance of the Ottoman Bank brand name from all remaining branches. At the time of its merger, the Ottoman Bank had a network of 58 branches and around 1,400 personnel. Most of these branches have been maintained as branches of Garanti Bank since the merger.


Human resources and leadership

The Ottoman Bank was set up as an institution in which people from multiple nationalities would work, even though the nationality of its most senior executives was the matter of numerous negotiations over the years. The General Manager in Constantinople and their deputy were British or French, even though during World War I the BIO was administered by Ottomans of Armenian and Greek ethnicity as British and French nationals had to leave the country at war. The top executives and most of the branch managers were Europeans. Many mid-level officers and some branch managers were non-Muslim Ottomans of Greeks of Turkey, Greek, Armenians of Turkey, Armenian, Jews in Turkey, Jewish and Arab Christians, Arab Christian background. The bottom of the hierarchy was mostly Muslim Ottomans performing services as clerks, couriers, guards and doorkeepers. Compared to the proportion of the different population of the empire, the number of the non-Muslim personnel was comparatively high, partly reflecting the fact that non-Muslims had better access to western language skills, accounting and banking education, and culturally western orientation until the forming of the Republic of Turkey.


Chairmen


First Ottoman Bank

*
Austen Henry Layard Sir Austen Henry Layard (; 5 March 18175 July 1894) was an English Assyriologist, traveller, cuneiformist, art historian, draughtsman, collector, politician and diplomat. He was born to a mostly English family in Paris and largely raised in It ...
(1856–1861) * Thomas Charles Bruce (1861–1862) * Sir William Clay (1862–1865)


BIO London Committee

* Sir William Clay (1863–1866) *
Austen Henry Layard Sir Austen Henry Layard (; 5 March 18175 July 1894) was an English Assyriologist, traveller, cuneiformist, art historian, draughtsman, collector, politician and diplomat. He was born to a mostly English family in Paris and largely raised in It ...
(1866–1870) * Thomas Charles Bruce (1870–1890) * Charles Mills, 1st Baron Hillingdon (1890–1898) * Charles Mills, 2nd Baron Hillingdon (1898–1907) * Edward Ponsonby, 8th Earl of Bessborough, Edward Ponsonby (1907–1920) * George Goschen, 2nd Viscount Goschen, George Goschen (1920–1924) * Herbert Lawrence (1924–1943)


BIO Paris Committee

* (1863–1902) * Baron Rodolphe Hottinguer, Rodolphe Hottinguer (1902–1919) * Jean de Neuflize (1919–1928) * Raoul Mallet (1928–1937) * Charles Rist (1937–1954) * Emmanuel Monick (1954–1975) * Bernard (1975–1989) * Gustave Rambaud (1989–1992) * Hubert de Saint-Amand (1992–1996)


General managers


Constantinople / Istanbul

* (1863–1868) * Augustus Edward Hobart-Hampden (1868–1871) * Morgan Hugh Foster (1871–1889) * Edgar Vincent (1889–1897) * Robert Hamilton Lang (1897–1902) * Gaston Auboyneau (1902–1903) * Charles (1903–1904) * Jules Deffès (1904–1910) * Paul Révoil (1910–1913) * Arthur Nias (1913–1919) * Louis Steeg (1920–1925) * Jacques Jeulin (1966–1985) * Aclan Acar (1996–2000) * Turgay Gönensin (2000–2001)


Paris

From the 1880s to World War I, a Paris-based officer generally known as the , starting with Théodore Berger who had earlier been the Secretary of the Paris Committee, played a key executive role in running the BIO in close coordination with the management based in Constantinople. * Théodore Berger (1882–1900) * Frank Auboyneau (1900–1903) * Gaston Auboyneau (1903–1911), Frank's son * Charles (1914–?)


Buildings


Galata head office

The Ottoman Bank (from 1856) and then the BIO (from 1863) were initially established on the top floor of Saint Pierre Han, a commercial facility that was a dependency of the Church of SS Peter and Paul, Istanbul, Church of Saints Peter and Paul in
Galata Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most nota ...
. In the late 1880s, the BIO decided to commission a new headquarters building slightly downhill on Voyvoda Street, now Bankalar Caddesi in Karaköy, which would also serve as headquarters for the Ottoman Tobacco Company in which the BIO was the main investor. Architect Alexander Vallaury designed the building for that purpose, with an east–west division between the two entities and separate street entrances (the BIO on No.11 and the Tobacco Régie on No.13); and a north–south stylistic division between the Western-looking street front and the New Ottoman architecture, neo-Ottoman, asymmetric rear façade that rose prominently above the Golden Horn. Thus, Vallaury's design embodied the BIO's unique identity as a bridge between Western European capitalism and Ottoman statehood. The building was inaugurated on and was kept in use by the Ottoman Bank until 1999. From 1999 to 2009, it housed the Karaköy branch of Garanti Bank and its area directorates, as well as the Ottoman Bank Archives and Research Centre. It was then closed for refurbishment and reopened in November 2011 as the Galata site of SALT (institution), SALT, a cultural institution that is funded by Garanti Bank, complementing SALT's other Istanbul site on İstiklal Avenue, formerly Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center.


Ottoman Bank Museum

SALT operates the Ottoman Bank Museum in the building together with a café, a bookstore, an auditorium, temporary exhibition spaces, a public library, and an archive that is open to the public (Açık Arşiv). The twin neighboring building, on Bankalar Caddesi 13, has hosted the Tobacco Monopoly Administration (succeeding the Régie) from 1925 to 1934, and since 1934 has been the Istanbul branch of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. The Ottoman Bank Museum was initially opened in the building's basement and expanded into the upper floors in 2017. It displays objects and provides insight into the late Ottoman and early Republican period, including stock and bond certificates, accounting books, customer files, deposit cards, personnel files and photographs. The basement includes four bank vaults, the largest of which is two-storied and has been repurposed to display the banknotes and silver coins issued between 1863 and 1914 together with the story, design, registration and samples of each. File:Bankalar Caddesi in the 1920's.jpg, North front in the 1920s, photographed by Jean Pascal Sébah, Sébah & Joaillier File:SALT Galata in 1990 (14666124881).jpg, Entrance hall with inscription that reads "Who Earns Money Is God's Beloved" File:Ottoman_Bank_head_office,_now_SALT_Galata,_İstanbul,_12967651205.jpg, Interior atrium File:Ottoman Bank Museum.jpg, Exhibition "Prelude to the Young Turk Revolution, 1908 Revolution: The Ottomans in Paris", 2011


Branch offices

At the very outset in 1856, the BIO established itself in existing commercial malls or caravanserais, namely Saint Pierre Han in
Galata Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most nota ...
, in Beirut, and Baltazzi Han in
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 1863, it purchased a prominent mansion from Levantine businessman Jake Abbott for its new branch in
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 ...
which would be destroyed by terror attack in 1903. In later years, the BIO would usually rent an existing space when opening a new branch, and if it generated sufficient activity after some years, commission an in-house or external architect to erect a prominent new branch building. File:İstanbul Branch (14925383565).jpg, Branch in Stamboul behind New Mosque, Istanbul, Yeni Cami, 1906 extension on a design by architect Barouh File:Garanti Bank Eminonu.jpg, The same building in 2023, branch of Garanti Bank File:Garanti Bank Istiklal.jpg, Former Pera branch on İstiklal Caddesi, later Garanti Bank File:Edirne Branch (14922302361).jpg, Branch in
Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...
, 1930; no longer extant File:Dedearach Banque Imperial postcard.jpg, Branch in Dedeagac, early 20th century File:Thessaloniki Branch (14926058635).jpg, Branch in
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 ...
, after bombing in 1903 by the Bulgarian anarchist Boatmen of Thessaloniki File:Ottoman Bank, Thessaloniki Branch (12965608004).jpg, Salonica branch after reconstruction in 1904 on a design by Barouh and Amar File:Κρατικό Ωδείο Θεσσαλονίκης .jpg, The same building in 2020, since 1983 File:Objekt na stopanska banka-filijala Bitola,.jpg, Former branch in Monastir, in 2014 branch of Stopanska Banka in Bitola File:Mytilene Branch (14739481637).jpg, Branch in Mytilene, 1906 File:Ottoman Bank İzmir Branch (15188377595).jpg, Branch in İzmir, built in the late 1920s on a design by Giulio Mongeri File:Ottoman Bank Izmir 20070724.jpg, The same building in 2007, branch of Garanti Bank File:Konya Branch (14738710819).jpg, Branch in Konya, 1930 File:Ottoman Bank Sivas Branch, 1930.jpg, Branch in Sivas, 1930 File:Osmanlı Bankası, 1930 (2).jpg, Branch in Samsun, 1930 File:Samsun tarihî Osmanlı Bankası binası.jpg, The same building in 2016, branch of Garanti Bank File:Jerusalem Branch (14925699302).jpg, Branch in Jerusalem, 1960 File:Jerusalem Branch (14739390649).jpg, Same building in 1999, by then an Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, ANZ branch still bearing the Ottoman Bank name; later Al-Hayat Medical Center File:Larnaca 01-2017 img09 Old Ottoman Bank.jpg, Former branch in
Larnaca Larnaca, also spelled Larnaka, is a city on the southeast coast of Cyprus and the capital of the Larnaca District, district of the same name. With a district population of 155.000 in 2021, it is the third largest city in the country after Nicosi ...
, 2017, hosting the Phivos Stavrides Foundation File:Tehran Branch (14739386840).jpg, Branch in Tehran, interwar period File:Kampala Branch (14903060616).jpg, Branch in Kampala, 1960 File:Dar es Salaam Branch (14739391119).jpg, Branch in Dar es Salaam, 1960 File:Nairobi Branch (14739443358).jpg, Branch in Nairobi from 1956 to 1969, designed by R. H. Robertson and built in the 1920s, branch of Stanbic Holdings Plc, Stanbic File:London Branch (14739481777).jpg, 22 Abchurch Lane, the Ottoman Bank's London seat from 1948 to 1969, demolished since then


See also

* State Bank of the Russian Empire * Austro-Hungarian Bank * Imperial Bank of Persia * State Bank of Morocco * Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey


References


Notes


External links


Bank history at the Ottoman Bank Archives and Research Centre

Ottoman Bank Museum

saltonline.org
{{Authority control 1856 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 2001 disestablishments in Turkey Banks established in 1856 Economy of the Ottoman Empire, Bank Former central banks, Ottoman Defunct banks of France Defunct banks of Turkey Defunct banks of the United Kingdom Banks disestablished in 2001 British overseas banks Giulio Mongeri buildings French banks of issue