 |
| IMF SPECIAL: THE PLACES THAT FINANCE FORGOT |
Nabil Djemaa expected big changes at Banque de Développement Local (BDL), one of Algeria’s largest banks. Speaking to Euromoney on the morning of July 31, Djemaa, one of the country’s most experienced bank auditors and a former employee of BDL, pointed to its chief executive’s close ties to Algeria’s recently fallen political regime.
Less than two hours later, Djemaa called back to share the latest: Mohamed Krim, BDL’s CEO, had just been dismissed.
Such quick-fire news is now commonplace in Algeria. One day a senior financier is rumoured to be under threat, the next he is dismissed or behind bars. Aboud Achour, chief executive of Banque Nationale d’Algérie (BNA) and head of Algeria’s banking association, was detained in June on corruption charges, as was Omar Boudieb, former CEO of Crédit Populaire d’Algérie (CPA), who had already been dismissed by the bank’s board a year earlier, reportedly over allegations of fraud.