Banka Kombëtare Tregtare

First branch of Banka Kombëtare Tregtare was established in Durrës on 29 November 1925, in the historical building where today’s BKT Durrës Branch is situated.

BKT’s Shkodra Branch was established on 1 November 1926.

BKT’s Vlora Branch was established on 15 November 1926.

ACB was established in 1991 due to the sub-division of the activities of the State Bank of Albania, the main activity of which was managing the foreign trade operations of the state-owned entities with former socialist countries.

The NBA on the other hand was established in 1992 as a result of a second sub-division of the State Bank of Albania.

Banka Kombëtare Tregtare (BKT), with today’s name, was established in January 1993, after the merging of the Albanian Commercial Bank (ACB) and the National Bank of Albania (NBA).

Banka Kombëtare Tregtare was established as a Joint Stock Company in July 1997, with assets reaching ALL 2.7 billion.

BKT accomplished its privatization process in the year 2000.

On July 6, 2000, The Albanian Parliament approved the sale contract between the Ministry of Finance and the Consortium of International Investors consisting of Kentbank (60% of shares), International Finance Corporation (20%) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (20%).

The transfer of ownership entered into force on 17 October, 2000.

In November 2000, the new shareholders invested US$10 million, resulting in the strong capitalization of the bank.

The new highly-experienced shareholders and managers brought to BKT major transformations in 2001. These transformations included the development of a new infrastructure and the restructuring of all aspects of the bank's operations from personnel and procedures to IT infrastructure.

In February 2003, with the decision of the Shareholders' General Meeting, the paid-up capital reached the amount of US$ 14, 64 million, turning BKT into the most capitalized bank in the whole Albanian banking system.

With the authorization of the Bank of Albania and pursuant to the specific court decision issued on June 9, 2006, it was approved the transfer of 60% plus 2 of the BKT shares possessed by Kent Bank in favour of Calik-Seker Konsorsiyum Yatirim A.S.

The Best Bank in South East Europe for 2009.

On June 30, 2009 Çalik Financial Services buys to IFC and BERZH theirs shares part being in this way the only BKT shareholder owning 100 % of the shares.

The Banker, part of Financial Times, has awarded BKT as Bank of the Year in Albania for two consequent years (2010 and 2011).

The Banker, part of Financial Times, has awarded BKT as Bank of the Year in Albania for two consequent years (2010 and 2011).

EMEA Finance and Euromoney evaluate BKT as The Best Bank in Albania for 2012, while JCR-ER assigns AA (Alb) for Corporate Governance.

2013 becomes the most successful year of BKT, gathering the three most prestigious awards in banking from EMEA Finance, Euromoney and The Banker as The Best Bank in Albania, while BKT’s CEO is awarded by EMEA Finance as “The CEO of the Year in Europe”.

2014 winning the three most prestigious awards but also by winning the Corporate Social Responsibility award by EMEA Finance and increasing the JCR Rating for Corporate Governance to AAA(Alb).

Year 2015 sings the 90th anniversary of BKT in Banking Sector.

2018 has also been a milestone for BKT with the massive investments towards the digitalization of our services that are being offered to our clients.

2018 was the year of transformation of BKT Kosova Branch into subsidiary of BKT Albania.

Global Finance magazine awards Banka Kombëtare Tregtare as "Best Bank in Albania for 2022". This award received from this prestigious magazine emphasizes its appreciation over the years.