Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania was created in 2008 from the merger of two important

Bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

s of the country Banca Italo-Albanese (founded in 1993) and the American Bank of Albania (founded in 1998), both acquired from Intesa Sanpaolo Group.

History

American Bank of Albania

ABA was established in September 1998, by the Albanian-American Enterprise Fund (AAEF) a private investment fund established by the United States government under the SEED Act of 1989, to assist

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

in its transition to a

market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ...

. As at 30 December 2007, ABA had total deposits of LEK 93.4 billion, total loans of over LEK 39.7 billion, and total assets of over LEK 106.4 billion. On the 20th and 21 December 2006, AAEF, ABA’s sole

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...

, signed a Share Purchase Agreement and a Shareholder Agreement for the sale of 80% stake of the shares outstanding, with AAEF maintaining control of the other 20% stake, until 2009. The agreement was finalized on 29 June 2007, when ABA officially became a bank of Intesa Sanpaolo Group.

Banca Italo-Albanese

Banca Italo-Albanese was established in July 1993 as one of the first private banks in Albania. It was established as a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

between the National Commercial Bank of Albania (shares were transferred to Ministry of Finance) and the Italian Banca di Roma. On 7 December 2005, Sanpaolo IMI signed the agreement for the acquisition of a stake of 80% in Banca Italo Albanese, from Capitalia and the Ministry of Finance (40% each). The

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially focus ...

(20%) retained its stake.

External links

{{Portal, Banks
Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania Official SiteIntesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania SWIFT Codes
Banks of Albania Intesa Sanpaolo subsidiaries 2008 establishments in Albania Banks established in 2008