Bank of Bethlehem
 | |
| Public limited company | |
| Traded as | RSE: BOB KNEX: BOB |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 1873 |
| Founder | John Terrell |
| Headquarters | Bank of Bethlehem Tower Bethlehem, Rhodesia |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Leroy Haddow (Chairman) Sherri Amos (President and CEO) |
| Services | Retail banking, corporate banking, investment banking, mortgage loans, private banking, wealth management, credit cards, finance and insurance |
| Revenue |  R$18.7 billion (2020) |
 R$3.8 billion (2020) | |
| Total assets | R$769.6 billion (2020) |
| Total equity | R$38.6 billion (2020) |
| Owners | Apostolic Catholic Church (58%) Kaes Investments (24%) Public shareholders (18%) |
Number of employees | 43,853 (2020) |
| Divisions | Retail & Commercial Group Investment Group Private Client Group |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Website | www |
The Bank of Bethlehem is a Rhodesian multinational investment bank and financial services company based in Bethlehem, Rhodesia. The bank is commonly known by its acronym BoB, which is also its stock symbol on both the Rhodesian Stock Exchange and Kingston Stock Exchange. Its largest shareholder is the Apostolic Catholic Church with a 58% share, Kaes Investments partially owning the company at a 24% share. The remaining 18% share of the company is owned by the public through common stock.
BoB is one of the Big Five banks in Rhodesia, it is the fifth largest Rhodesian bank by deposits and market capitalization, and one of the largest financial institutions in the world. It has international operations in Alexandria-Prussia, Asia, the Caribbean, and Indora. BoB serves more than 11 million clients, and has over 40,000 employees.
History
BoB expanded into Russia in the early 2000s, as the country was rapidly privatizing its banking industry. From 2003-2017 2% of BoB's total revenues came from it's Russian subsidiary. But in December 2017, it was forced to exit the Russian market due to the nationalizing of all foreign owned banks by the Government of the Union of Soviet Russian Republics. BoB withdrew its services from all its 44 branches and offices and layoff 750 employees.
In 2013, BoB substantially acquired all assets of Bank of Jamésie for R$13.5 million. After which it became known as, "Bank of Jamésie, a division of Bank of Bethlehem” with little to no change or layoffs. Following it's takeover BoB appointed Patrick Dunk, a Vice President at Bank of Kingston, as the new President and CEO. Dunk is the first permanent President and CEO since Jamésie conservatorship in 2011.
On September 17, 2018, BoB announced it was acquiring BankVault, a neobank company which provides fee-free financial services through a mobile app, for an undisclosed amount. BoB was part of the initial venture funding; it originally became interested in BankVault when its founder, Eddie Tibbet criticized their banking technology and approach to customer service.
Subsidiaries
BoB organises its subsidiaries within three business groups: Retail & Commercial Group; Investment Group; and Private Client Group.
- BoB Alexandria-Prussia
- BoB Arabia
- BoB Halifax
- BoB Rhodinia
- Bank of Jamésie
- Optimum Financial
- Reliance Mutual
- BoB Sinnoh
- BankVault
Investment Group:
- BoB Securities
Private Client Group:
- Tyndall Fleming
- BoB Private Banking
- BoB Gundy (50-50 joint venture with Gundy Financial Corporation)