Ionian Bank up its banking licence. The Greek operation, renamed "Ionian Popular Bank", was absorbed into Alpha Bank in 2000. A "decree of the Eminent Senate of the Commonwealth of Ionian Islands" established the Ionian State Bank in 1839, to finance trade between the Ionian Islands (a British protectorate), and Great Britain. This made the bank the oldest in Greece. The bank received a 20-year grant of the exclusive privilege of issuing and circulating banknotes for the Ionian Islands. The bank soon changed its name to Ionian Bank (IB), and initially only operated in the Ionian Islands, opening branches in Corfu, Aante
Snake Island (Black Sea) Snake Island (Black Sea) Snake Island (Greek Φιδονήσι "Fidonísi"), also known as Serpent Island (, , ), is an island located in the Black Sea, near the Danube Delta. The island is populated. A rural settlement of "Bile" was established in February 2007. The islet was part of border dispute between Romania and Ukraine in 2004–2009, during which Romania contested the technical definition of the island and borders around it. The territorial limits of the continental shelf around Snake Island were delineated by the International Court of Justice in 2009. Snake Island is an igneous rock formation located 35 km