Bank of Sydney in business

Ian Rogers
Beirut Hellenic Bank - the former Laiki Bank Australia - aims to cultivate a wider target market with a change of name. The bank will trade as Bank of Sydney from today.

While little publicised in advance, the bank implemented the change over the weekend.

Bank of Beirut bought Laiki from Cyprus Popular Bank in early 2011 and changed the name then to Beirut Hellenic Bank.

The bank's new website says the "board considered the Bank's future direction for over 18 months and our rebrand as Bank of Sydney reflects our ambition to become a bank of choice for multicultural Australia.    

The Cypriot heritage of Beirut Hellenic Bank may have had some impact on the bank's retail deposits in recent months.

As reported on Friday, Australian Prudential Authority data show that household deposits at Beirut Hellenic fell by A$28 million in March, equal to five per cent of the bank's deposit book. The deposit outflow since the beginning of the year is more than six per cent and has reversed a year of deposit growth.