American Bank of Albania approached by interested world financial institutions

TIRANA, Oct. 12 – The American Bank of Albania said Thursday the board was carefully considering offers from several large financial institutions interested in participating in their activity. ABA is owned by the Albanian-American Enterprise Fund (AAEF), a private, U.S. Corporation first funded through a US$30 million grant from the U.S. government. It has operated in Albania since 1998, trying to promote the private sector. “The board will consider Albania’s development of economy, the regional situation and the country’s integration efforts into the European community. That is a unique opportunity and we would like to remain the leading financial institution in the country,” said AAEF chairman Michael Granoff.
It seems that the country’s third largest by assets is considering opportunities to sell part of it to foreign financial institutions, aiming to strengthen the bank’s position on the local market and raise competitiveness. “Recently we have been approached by several large financial institutions interested in participating with us in ABA,” said Granoff. “The Board of the Fund (AAEF) is carefully considering these proposals. I am not free to disclose the names of the entities due to confidentiality agreements that we have signed,” added Granoff. The potential investor should meet five requirements in order to acquire a stake in the bank, said another official of the AAEF. If selected, the future buyer should keep ABA’s name and ensure AAEF participation in any further transaction. It would also have to keep the existing management team and staff “from top to bottom”. The third requirement is for the potential investor to be customer-oriented. Another condition for the buyer is to continue the bank’s mission and contribute further to the development of the local economy. Under the last requirement, the capital created by any potential transaction should remain in Albania to further the bank’s mission. Interested offers have come from very large international financial institutions, but not the World Bank, International Monetary Fund or the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, according to Granoff, who said he was not free to disclose the names of interested entities. Granoff also did not give any exact timing for any result from the talks but said he was speaking neither for days, or weeks, nor for years.”
ABA, the single largest lender in the country, serves 67,000 clients, manages US$586 million in assets, and employs 385 people in offices throughout Albania and Greece. ABA started operations in September 1998. It is wholly owned by its founder, the AAEF which was established in 1989 as a non-profit organization. ABA currently runs a network of 21 branches and outlets, including two branches in Greece – one in Athens and the other in Thessaloniki. Its outlets in Albania are located mostly in Tirana and in the country’s south. According to latest data, the bank had a $4.2 million net profit for the first half of the year, up 52 percent from the year-ago period. Its assets stood at $624.2 million and the loan portfolio reached $229.1 million at the end of June, up 34.4 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively on the year. The AAEF, with a mission to invest profitably, to bring U.S. technology and know-how to Albania, to encourage private investment and train Albanian businesspeople, has invested over US$63 million in 26 companies during the 11 years it has been present in the country. “Over the last 11 years we have built a reservoir of experience and critical mass which now enables us to invest in larger and more complex projects. We have only just begun,” said Granoff. There are 17 commercial banks operating in Albania.