Ottoman Bank

a major foreign commercial bank in Turkey; the country’s fifth largest commercial bank in the early 1970’s. The bank was founded in Istanbul in 1863 by a consortium of British banks (including the Big Five) and French banks (including the Bank of Paris and the Netherlands). Its original charter, a concession agreement with the government of the Ottoman Empire, was due to run out in 1975. Originally called the Ottoman Imperial Bank, it received the name Ottoman Bank in 1925, after Turkey was declared a republic (1923).

Until 1932 the Ottoman Bank performed the functions of a bank of issue, was the government banker, and handled accounts with European creditor countries related to the state foreign debt. A major colonial bank, it was the conduit for Anglo-French capital in the Middle East and a number of African colonies, where it had branches. By the early 1970’s its branches had passed to Grindlays Bank (London), whose capital is partly owned by Lloyds Bank and Citibank of New York, and to the Paris branch of Grindlays, the Grindlay Ottoman Bank. The Ottoman Bank kept its 92 branches in Turkey and was a partner in the subsidiary banks of Grindlays Bank.

The Ottoman Bank has an office in London and a branch in Paris. On Jan. 1, 1973, its balance was £140.7 million. Its deposits amounted to £113.8 million; loans £67.7 million; and capital and reserves, £6.25 million.