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| Regional Awards for Excellence 2013: Central and Eastern Europe | |
| Central and Eastern Europe winners by country Albania Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Bosnia and Herezegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Georgia Hungary Kazakhstan Kosovo Kyrgyzstan FYR Macedonia Poland Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia Turkey |
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Best Bank: Banka Kombetare Tregare |
| For the second year in succession, Banka Kombetare Tregtare (BKT) takes the top spot in Albania ahead of local market leader Raiffeisen by virtue of its superior commitment to expansion and strong profitability. The number-two lender, a subsidiary of non-financial Turkish conglomerate Calik Holding, grew its balance sheet by more than 25% in 2012 to $2.3 billion and its deposit base by 19.2% to $1.9 billion. Meanwhile, a focus on cross-selling produced substantial increases in both mortgage and retail overdraft lending, boosting BKT’s total loan portfolio by 9.8% to $854 million and taking its share of Albania’s retail market to a sector-best 18%. The lender also added three branches to its countrywide network, taking the total to 59. Despite the rapid expansion, however, profitability remained healthy, with the pre-tax figure for full-year 2012 coming in at $34.7 million, up 5.5% | |
