Banking - Europe Industry Competitors

With a portfolio of some 70 companies operating in more than 10 countries, Haci Ömer Sabanci Holding ranks as the second-largest business group in Turkey, behind the Koç group. The company operates in nine strategic business groups: financial services; tire, reinforcement materials, and automotive; retailing and food; cement; chemicals and international trade; textile; and energy....

There's little of the monastic about Abbey. The bank's focus on worldly things has helped make it one of the UK's biggest mortgage lenders. Although best known for its home loans and savings accounts, Abbey offers an array of services to rival the biggest UK banks (Barclays, HSBC, and Royal Bank of Scotland)....

Allied Irish Banks (AIB), one of Ireland's largest banks and private employers, is looking beyond the Emerald Isle for its proverbial pot o' gold. The company offers retail and commercial accounts and loans, life insurance, financing, leasing, pension, and trust services through some 275 branches in Ireland and another 50 in Northern Ireland, where it operates First Trust Bank....

The Olympics behind it, Alpha Bank is still going for the gold. The second-largest bank in Greece (after National Bank of Greece) was also the official bank of the Olympic Games held in Athens during the summer of 2004. Alpha Bank provides business and personal banking services through about 675 branches in Greece, Cyprus, and four other neighboring southeastern European nations, as well as in New York, London, and Jersey in the UK Channel Islands....

The Banca Carige group of banks offers traditional retail banking services through some 500 locations primarily in Liguria, but also in Tuscany, Latium, Lombardy, and other regions. Banca Carige offers banking and other financial services (treasury, money market products, foreign exchange, underwriting, stock brokerage)....

Banca di Legnano is a midsized bank serving northern Italy in and around Milan. The company offers standard retail and commercial banking services including deposit accounts and consumer and business loans and mortgages from about 100 branch locations. It also also provides asset management, pension planning, and related services....

The city of Siena knows its way around a horse race, and also the world of banking. One of Italy's largest banks, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS,or just MPS) provides consumer, business, and other banking services to about 4.5 million clients through more than 1,900 branches throughout the country; it also has limited operations in several other nations....

One of Italy's top banking groups, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL) has more than 700 branches throughout the country and offices in some 15 other countries. The bank caters to consumers, businesses, and public entities, offering deposits, lending, credit cards, and asset management....

The Etruscans started it all for Rome, but Banca Popolare dell'Etruria e del Lazio (Banca Etruria) serves central and northern Italy through more than 160 branches. The company divides its banking operations into three segments: personal, private, and corporate....

Perhaps being nestled at the foot of the Alps inspires Banca Popolare di Intra Scarl to acquire great mounds of money. The regional bank has some 80 branches offering retail banking services and loans, primarily in the northern Italian provinces of Novara, Milano, Varese, and Verbania....

Founded in 1865, Banca Popolare di Milano is a cooperative bank with more than 700 branches in Italy, concentrated in and around Milan and in northern and central portions of the country. It also operates commercial banks Banca di Legnano and Cassa di Risparmo di Alessandria....

Banca Popolare Di Spoleto offers savings accounts, loans, credit cards and debit cards to individuals, families and businesses. The bank has about 70 branches throughout the central Italian regions of Umbria, Lazio, Marche, and Tuscany. BPS Online allows customers to access accounts on the Internet....

Investment bank Banca Profilo offers personalized banking; corporate financing; and asset management, treasury, and consulting services. Clients include insurers, businesses, institutions, and individuals. Founded as a brokerage in 1988, the firm became a bank in 1995 to compete with securities-trading foreign banks entering the Italian market....

Banca Toscana might well be one of the most popular banks under the Tuscan sun. It operates through more than 440 branches, primarily in Tuscany, but also in the regions of Abruzzi, Emilia-Romagna, Latium, Liguria, Lombardy, Marche, Molise, and Umbria. The bank also has offices in Hong Kong, London, Munich, New York, and Paris....

It's not Cortez revisited, but Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) -- one of Spain's top banks -- is conquering Latin America. It operates in about 10 Latin American countries through such subsidiaries as BBVA Bancomer in Mexico; Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, Chile; and BBVA Banco Francés in Argentina....

Banco Popular Español certainly lives up to its middle name. One of Spain's top banks (after giants Banco Santander Central Hispano and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria), Banco Popular offers commercial and retail banking services through more than 2,200 branches....

The name suggests a country farmer's credit union, but Crédit Agricole's scope is much greater. France's largest bank, Crédit Agricole owns a 25% stake each in about 40 regional banks, which in turn own more than half of Crédit Agricole. It offers retail and business banking, lending, and deposit services at more than 9,000 locations throughout the country, including those of subsidiary Le Crédit Lyonnais (LCL)....

When Belgian burgs need backing and French cities need to get situated, they turn to Dexia Group. The Franco-Belgian bank is a leader in municipal finance in Europe, with the majority of the market in Belgium and almost half in France. Subsidiary Dexia Crediop is a prominent local government finance company in Italy....

HBOS is the name, mortgages the game -- that and insurance, banking, and asset management. One of the UK's top mortgage lenders under such brands as Halifax, Birmingham Midshires, Intelligent Finance, and The Mortgage Business, HBOS's far-flung empire spans the UK and Australia....

Don't confuse Lloyds TSB with that other Lloyds in The City. Unrelated to the world-renowned Lloyd's of London, Lloyds TSB is near the top of the UK's banking world. The group provides retail banking services including deposit accounts, credit cards, loans, and wealth management....