of New York, and possibly a sub-branch or agency in Smyrna. In 1924, IB continued its international expansion by opening a representative office in New York. Then in 1926, IB established a branch in Nicosia, Cyprus and next year agencies in Famagusta, Limassol and Larnaca. IB retreated from New York in 1928, closing its branch office there, and from Constantinople the next year by selling its branch there to Deutsche Bank. Lastly, in 1938, it acquired more than two-thirds of the share capital of Popular Bank, which was established in 1905. World War II and after During World War II, the Italians forcibly acquired IB's holdings in Popular Bank and ran it as an Italian bank for the duration. At the end of the War, IB regained its holdings. In 1949, IB further increased its holdings in Popular Bank to four-fifths of the capital. Two years later it returned to Egypt by establishing a branch in Cairo. In 1956, the Egyptian government established Bank Al-Goumhourieh to take over the Egyptian operations of Ionian Bank and the Ottoman Bank in the wake of the Suez Canal War. IB had provided cover for British Intelligence (two directors of the bank, Sir Bickham Sweet-Escott and Robin Brooke, belonged to MI6), but all British and French banks were nationalized by Egypt at the same time. The next year IB sold its Greek assets to the Commercial Bank of Greece, which maintained IB as a separate entity, and its assets in Cyprus to the Chartered Bank. The Greek IB became the Ionian and Popular Bank of Greece by merging with its subsidiary, Popular Bank. Eventually, Alpha Bank purchased the Ionian and Popular Bank of Greece in 1999, and absorbed it in 2000. Commercial Bank of Greece bought IB's London branch. See also Alpha Bank Banknote Museum List of banks in Greece Sources Ionian Bank (1953) Ionian Bank Limited: A History. (London). Cottrell, P.L. (2002) Founding a multinational enterprise: Ionian Bank, 1833-1849, in P. Kostis, (ed.) The creators and creation of banking enterprises in Europe from the 18th to the 20th centuries. (Athens: Historical Archives, Alpha Bank). Cottrell, P.L. (2007) The Ionian Bank: An Imperial Institution, 1938-1864. (Athens: Historical Archives, Alpha Bank). Moncrief-Scott, Ian. 2001. International Trade on the Ionian Isles. Financial History (Winter), 28-31. Orbell, J. and A. Turton. 2001. British Banking: a guide to the historical records. (Aldershot: Ashgate). External links Catalogue of the