ATEbank
Encyclopedia
The Agricultural Bank of Greece is a commercial bank based in Athens, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. The bank was founded in 1929. The bank proclaimed that it would focus on the Balkan bank market, with the business activities of supporting of the agricultural sector. ATEbank held a strong position at Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

 Stock Exchange.
The Bank's development of business activities called for a new name and corporate image as ATEbank.

History of the ATEbank

1929 / Foundation. Agricultural Bank of Greece is founded as a non-profit organisation, provider of credit to the agricultural sector. The bank mainly aims at implementing programmes for financing both the activities of the primary sector of the economy and the processing and marketing of agricultural products, and enhancing rural development.

1950 Expansion of activities in the agricultural sector. Agricultural Bank founds a number of companies, which produce farming products and exploit resources all over the country.

1990 Expansion of activities in the non-agricultural sector. Agricultural Bank of Greece expands in the non-agricultural sector, by developing both a broad branch network all over Greece and a variety of new financial products and services.

1991 Transition to S.A. Agricultural Bank becomes S.A., broadens the spectrum of banking and financial services and acquires participating interests in specialised financial companies, thereby expanding the ABG group of companies.

2000 Entrance in the Athens Stock Exchange. Agricultural Bank increases its capital in order to enter Athens Stock Exchange, where its shares are listed since January 2001

2004 - 2006 Strenghthening of the corporate image and positioning of the bank. The Bank by implementing a wide range of reforms and restructuring programs, and developing its branch network competitiveness and productivity, manages to achieve high growth rates which are depicted in the financial statements of both the Bank and the Group.

In particular:

An increase in the Bank’s share capital took place, amounting to € 1.25 billion (June 2005). This capital increase allowed the Bank to deal with the problems encountered after adopting the International Accounting Standards (IAS) and has hence contributed to the substantial reorganization of the Bank’s financial statements.
The Bank implemented the Panotokia Law, which benefited in total 63.220 debtors of whom 54.000 were farmers. Loans written off amounted to EUR 1.8 billion of which EUR 1.1 billion concerned debts of farmers. In November 2005, the share of the Bank became a constituent of the FTSE/Athex 20 Index. The Bank’s corporate identity was changed in association with the new logo “ΑΤΕbank” on the branches and ATMs. The Board of Directors distributed for the first time a dividend per share out of the profit for the year 2005. The Bank expands in the Balkans’ area by purchasing MINDΒank (July 2006) and getting permission for bancassurance operations in Romania.

In July 2010 the bank failed the Eurozone stress test
2010 European Union banking stress test exercise
A European Union-wide banking stress test exercise has been conducted by the Committee of European Banking Supervisors every year since 2009. The second instance was performed in July 2010. The third was carried out with results published in July 2011...

 which required 6% Tier 1 capital
Tier 1 capital
Tier 1 capital is the core measure of a bank's financial strength from a regulator's point of view. It is composed of core capital, which consists primarily of common stock and disclosed reserves , but may also include non-redeemable non-cumulative preferred stock...

 to be maintained after the test. An increase in the Bank’s share capital took place in July 2011, amounting to € 1.3 billion.

Romania

As a part of strategy of expansion in Balkan in 2006 ATEbank acquired majority stake in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

's Mind Bank.

Serbia

On 11.09.2006 ATE Bank announced it had acquired 24.99 pct of common and 24.99 pct of preferential shares of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

's Aik Bank
AIK Bank Nis
AIK banka Niš is a bank based in Niš, Serbia.It was founded in 1976 as the internal bank of the Agro-industrial Combine Niš. AIK Bank officially began operating as a bank after it obtain a license of the National Bank of Yugoslavia . AIK Bank was registered as a joint-stock company at 1995...

, Niš
Niš
Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...

for an undisclosed amount. AIK Bank Nis is listed on the Belgrade Stock Exchange, it's the most profitable bank in Serbia and has a 3 pct market share.
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