Eureka! Institutional Repository

Stock exchange started unofficially in Greece at the end of the 19th century. At first, acts of exchange and securities took place in the unofficial markets of Hermoupolis and Athens, by Greek merchants and shipowners. The original shareholders or bondholders decided to sell some or all of their titles. On the other hand, there were others who wanted to invest their savings in shares or bonds. Therefore, the need of creating a market, where salesmen and securities buyers would attend, came up. Without the existence of this market it would be difficult for the salesman to track down a buyer and even more difficult to settle a fair prize, that would be the base of the transaction. The large number that shares and bonds reached, their wide public spread and the growing number of transactions that were taking place, brought up the need of organizing the market more systematically, which was finally called Stock Exchange.