The narrative in the Albanian banking sector was unchanged last year as Banka Kombetare Tregtare (BKT) continued to assert its dominance over former market leader Raiffeisen Bank. By the end of December, the Turkish-owned lender accounted for more than a quarter of all deposits in the country and nearly 22% of overall loans, while its Austrian rival saw its share of both markets slip to below 20%.
Retail and consumer lending remain the key drivers of BKT’s impressive profitability – return on equity topped 19% again last year – but the bank is increasingly making inroads into the corporate market.