Mauritius Commercial Bank - (en)
Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) is the oldest and largest banking
institution of Mauritius. It is also the oldest banking institution
south of the Sahara and one of the oldest banks of the Commonwealth
to have preserved its original name. The MCB is the only Mauritian
bank to be among The Banker's list of 'THE TOP 1000 WORLD BANKS
2006'
History
1838 Several British merchants and traders, including James Blyth
and William Hollier Griffiths, establish the Banque Commerciale de
l’îsle Maurice to compete with the only other bank, the Bank of
Mauritius, which favors the planters on the island.
1859 MCB's bank charter is renewed. MCB loses the privilege of note
issuance but this is non-binding as the bank had ceased issuing
notes in 1850 and none are in circulation.
1949 Lloyds Bank becomes a shareholder. In 1999 its shareholding is
10%.
1991 MCB opened representative offices in Paris and Antananarivo,
Madagascar. Together with Credit Lyonnais (40%) and Banque de la
Reunion (a subsidiary of Credit Lyonnais-25%), MCB (35%) established
Banque Internationale Des Mascareignes, an offshore unit based in
Mauritius. (In 1998 Crédit Lyonnais confirmed the transfer to Cepac
(Caisse d’épargne Provence-Alpes-Corse) of its remaining shares
(25.5%) in Banque internationale des Mascareignes.)
1992 MCB became the majority shareholder of Banque Française
Commerciale Océan Indien (BFCOAI), which is registered in France,
with the previous owner, Banque Indosuez, retaining an interest.
BFCOI has branches in Reunion Island, Mayotte and the Seychelles,
and a head office in Paris. MCB also established Union Commercial
Bank in Antananarivo. The original shareholders were MCB (70%),
Standard Bank Investment Corporation Ltd (10%), BFCOI (10%), FIARO
(5%) and Société Manofi (5%). By 2000, MCB’s share ownership had
risen to 79%.
1992 MCB establishes a branch in Paris.
1999 MCB established a subsidiary in Maputo, Mozambique: União
Comercial De Bancos (Moçambique). By 2000 MCB's shareholding is
76%.
2000 MCB acquires the minority stake Credit Agricole Indosuez holds
in BFCOI, increasing its stake by 22.22% to 88.88%. This followed
the takeover of Banque Indosuez by the Credit Agricole Group, which
itself had operations in both Reunion and Mayotte in direct
competition with BFCOI.
2003 MCB agreed with Société Générale for the two to jointly own
(50-50) BFCOI. However, the agreement did not include BFCOI's
operations in the Seychelles. MCB therefore incorporated a new fully
owned subsidiary, Mauritius Commercial Bank (Seychelles) - MCB
Seychelles - to take over BFCOI's operations there.
|
