100th anniversary of Credit Bank

Advertising material to celebrate Credit Bank’s 100th anniversary: 

• The first anniversary print media ad “1879-1979. ONE HUNDRED YEARS TOGETHER” (photo 1). 
• Print media ad to commemorate 100 years of modern banking concepts. The ad photos depict the bank’s technology, customer service and products, including: the teller system, mobile banking units, cash deposit boxes, safe deposit boxes, high-yield interest rates and loans (photo2).
• Four-page advertising leaflet. Its pages recount 100 years of Credit Bank history (photos 3, 4, 5 and 6). 
• Print media ad inviting customers to visit the branches and pick up the customary “lucky coin for their New Year’s Eve pie” (photo 7).  

Celebrating the anniversary 

1979 was a landmark for Credit Bank, as that year marked 100 years from its establishment. The bank celebrated the occasion with a host of events, along with an advertising and promotional campaign. 

To commence the programme of festivities, the bank administration held 2 receptions. There, the bank honoured its friends and associates from Greece and abroad.  

Next was the 4th Directors Conference, held at the bank’s birth city of Kalamata. Festivities were also organised around the conference. The events were attended by conference participants, the Kalamata branch employees and local entrepreneurs. 

The shareholders’ General Meeting was also held in a celebratory atmosphere. The beginning of construction work for the new headquarters at the corner of Stadiou and Pesmazoglou Streets was also announced in this very meeting. Credit Bank would operate out of that iconic corner building in many years to come. 

An anniversary gift 

To celebrate the anniversary, the Board of Directors gave half a month’s worth of salary as a gift to the bank’s entire salaried and pensioned staff.  

On the occasion of the festivities, Spyros J. Costopoulos and his wife Eurydice made a donation to establish the J. F. Costopoulos Foundation. To this very day, the Foundation has always aspired to support and promote the Greek culture and civilisation within and beyond the country’s borders. 

The bank's advertising campaign 

Credit Bank launched an advertising campaign to share the news of its anniversary with the public. 

The slogan “100 YEARS TOGETHER” was used as an anniversary logo on stationery paper, mailing envelopes, passbooks and branch decorations. 

The campaign also included plenty of ads that appeared in magazines and focused on the slogan and modern banking concepts. 

2 anniversary publications to collect 

To conclude the festivities for its 100th anniversary, Credit Bank published 2 collectible anniversary volumes: 

• The Banknotes of Greece from 1828 to the Present Day by Dimitris Nikoletopoulos and Dimitris Anagnostopoulos. The volume details the history of Greek banknotes from the first bonds issued in 1822 through to the present. 
• Athinai 1650-1870 by Ioannis Meletopoulos. The volume showcases depictions of Athens from 1650 to 1870. That is the year when the railway connecting Athens to its major port of Piraeus started to operate. 

The Alpha Bank Historical Archives are not open to the public. 

Research visits can be organised upon request. 

Contact us to request a visit.