Credins Bank celebrated its fifth anniversary, Dutch and Swiss funds are new shareholders

Tirana, 28 March 2008. Credins Bank celebrated its fifth anniversary yesterday. Credins Bank was incorporated on 31 March 2003 as the first private Albanian bank with all-Albanian private capital. Representatives of the German and Swiss embassies in Tirana, representatives of the Albanian government, Albanian financial institutions and business and employees of the bank attended the event.
Artan Santo, CEO of Credins Bank, thanked the staff and pointed out that in five years Credins Bank has grown beyond all expectations. “We are in our fifth anniversary and, despite that, we feel grown up because only five year ago was it made possible for Albanians to have their own Albanian bank. We had the privilege to be first, and we were pleased to notice that our siblings with Albania’s initial capital followed us”, said Santo.
After 5 years of activity, Credins Bank has some 50,000 clients, total bank assets of Lek 35.7 milliards (~ 240 million) and a credit portfolio of Lek 16.1 milliards. The bank has grown to 16 offices in Tirana and another 16 offices in the main Albanian cities. Credins Bank is number eight in Albania, with a market share of five to six percent. “At the start, we were in 16th place, and today we are in sixth place by net income, surpassing all our expectations”, said Santo.
In the past two years, the bank’s lending strategy is focused increasingly on the medium and small corporate segments of the Albanian market. In early 2007, the bank set up a separate SME and retail-lending unit within the Credit Department, which now accounts for 42 percent of the outstanding portfolio (429 clients as of August 2007). The SME loan portfolio shows a focus on mid-sized and larger SMEs as it currently averages approximately EUR 100,000 in loan size. Credins also has a $1.1 million Microcredit Guarantee Facility from the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). It is undertaking microfinance development as a serious product initiative, using Procredit types of lending methodology.
Santo also announced that two major financial players have bought 25.34 percent of the shares of Credins Bank. “The participation of the Dutch and Swiss owned funds, through Balkan Investment Fund (BFSE Holding BV) and State Secretariat for Economic Relations (SECO) is important for Credins Bank, and it simultaneously marks a special development for the Albanian market”, said Santo. The new investors are going to control their shares through two specialized companies, the Development Financial Equity Partners (DFE) and the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM AG). (Tirana Times Staff)