World Savings Banks Institute (WSBI) elects new Board of Directors.
First time an Albanian bank is on the Board
Marrakesh, Morocco (May 11th, 2012) – World Savings Banks Institute (WSBI) has elected the new Board of Directors in the 19th Meeting of the General Assembly that took place in Marrakesh, Morocco. The new Board of Directors, whose mandate is for the period from 2012 till 2015, is composed of different representatives from WSBI Regional Groups including Europe, Latin American/Caribbean, Asia/Pacific and Africa.
Among the seven other members from Europe coming from Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Luxembourg, for the first time in the history of this prestigious organization, Albanian bank’s representatives, Mr. Mehmet Usta, Chairman of BKT and Mr. Seyhan Pencapligil, CEO and Board Member of BKT, are elected as the Member and Alternate Member of WSBI’s Board of Directors, respectively.
Brussels based WSBI works closely with international financial institutions and represents its members’ interests at an international level. WSBI, the international retail banking association that brings together 110 banks and associations from 89 countries, is committed to the “3 R’s” of banking:
- Retail: their main market focus is on individuals, SMEs and/or local authorities.
- Regional: they provide access to financial services through a broad network of outlets.
- Responsible: they demonstrate responsibility both in their business approach and towards the society in which they operate.
BKT, which joined WSBI on 21 September 2009, as the sole member from Albania, currently holds the position of National Coordinator. Representation with its Chairman and CEO and Board Member in the Board of Directors of such an important international organization reaffirms the good track that BKT is following in the direction of high service quality, innovation, expansion of the network, financial stability and profitability.
BKT has also been recently evaluated as “The Best Bank of Albania for 2011” by the prestigious British magazine, The Banker.
BKT AWARDED AS BANK OF YEAR 2011
Tirana, Albania (April 10th, 2012) – Banka Kombëtare Tregtare is awarded as The Best Bank of Albania based on its superior growth, overall performance and innovation shown during 2011 by the prestigious British magazine EMEA Finance for the second time consecutively. The award, which was recently announced, will be delivered in the ceremony that will take place in London on May 17, 2012.
EMEA Finance, one of the most important financial magazines in the world that follows developments in the financial markets in emerging Europe, Middle East and Africa, awards each year best banks and financial institutions in these markets.
Another inspiring evaluation has been JCR Eurasia Rating’s reaffirmation of the credit rating ‘AAA (Alb)’ along with a ‘stable’ outlook to Banka Kombetare Tregtare Sh.A. (BKT), on the long term national scale, which denotes the highest investment grade. This rating has been given to BKT for the fourth time in a row. Furthermore, JCR-ER increases BKT’s Long Term International Local Currency Grade to “BB+” in parallel with the increase in the Country grade.
2011 has been a year full of evaluations and awards. WELLS FARGO, one of the biggest American banks, has given to BKT “2011 Straight-Through-Processing (STP) Award”. This award testifies the high accuracy and efficiency of BKT in transfer payments which result in higher customer satisfaction.
BKT, which recently celebrated its 86th anniversary, is the second largest and the oldest commercial bank in Albania with a total of 1.9 billion USD in assets and 1.6 billion of USD in deposits. BKT network includes 82 branches out of which 59 are situated in Albania and 23 of them in Kosovo, making BKT the biggest Albanian bank in the region. BKT has been recently evaluated as “The Best Bank of Albania for 2011” by the prestigious British magazine The Banker three times in total and twice in a row.