Piraeus the 19th century, after Athens' declaration as the capital of Greece. In the modern era, Piraeus is a large city, bustling with activity and an integral part of Athens, acting as home to the country's biggest harbour and bearing all the characteristics of a huge marine and commercial-industrial centre. The port of Piraeus is the chief port in Greece, the largest passenger port in Europe and the second largest in the world, servicing about 20 million passengers annually. With a throughput of 1.4 million TEUs, Piraeus is placed among the top ten ports in container traffic in Europe and the
Piraeus Bank (today Piraeus Bank Beograd with 42 branches), and the Egyptian Commercial Bank (today Piraeus Bank Egypt with 43). In 2007 PB purchased the Cyprus arm of Arab Bank and renamed it Piraeus Bank (Cyprus). On 13 September 2007 Piraeus Bank completed its acquisition of 99.6% of the share capital of "International Commercial Bank" in Ukraine, today named Piraeus ICB. In June 2012 PB signed an agreement with Investors Bancorp Inc, to transfer PB's shareholding in Marathon Banking Corporation in New York City, to Investors Bancorp. PB used the money it received for Marathon to finance the take over of the