National Commercial Bank Sh.a. (Albania)

National Commercial Bank or Banka Kombetare Tregtare Sh.a. (BKT) was established in January 1993 after the merger of the Albanian Commercial Bank (ACB) and the National Bank of Albania (NBA). It was transformed into a Joint Stock Company in 1997. In the spring of 2000, Albania’s Ministry of Finance sold full control over the bank to an international consortium, compound of the Turkey-based Kent Bank, the World Bank’s commercial lending arm – International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Kentbank was a majority shareholder with 60%, while the other two owners held 20%, each. In May, 2006, Istanbul-based Corporation Calik-Seker Konsorsiyum Yatirim, formed by Calik Group and Sekerbank, acquired 60% stake plus two shares in BKT. The stake was bought from Turkey’s state-owned Savings Deposit Insurance Fund, which took over Kent Bank in 2001 after the Turkish lender declared insolvent. In 2009, IFC and EBRD sold their stakes in BKT to Calik as well, making it the sole owner of the Albanian lender. BKT offers a wide range of banking services and products to individual as well as corporate clients. It operates a branch network of over 80 outlets in Albania and Kosovo.