Scandal/ The largest bank in Albania, BKT, invests 2.2 billion euros of Albanians' savings abroad

The National Commercial Bank is applying an aggressive strategy of shifting capital collected from Albanians' savings to international markets, creating what could be considered a "financial hemorrhage" for the domestic economy.

During the third quarter of 2026 alone, the bank made a major tactical move by sending over 9.4 billion LEK (about 103 million Euros) abroad within a 3-month period.

This move includes increasing deposits in non-resident banks by 4.25 billion LEK and granting loans to foreign financial institutions worth 5.16 billion LEK, mainly to benefit from high interest rates in the Eurozone.

Financial hemorrhage
This latest move is just the tip of the iceberg, as the total stock of money that BKT has taken out of Albania has reached colossal figures. According to data from audited financial statements, the full stock of BKT's total placements abroad reaches the extraordinary value of over 2.22 billion Euros.

This giant mountain of money, which turns BKT into a global investment fund, consists of 1.75 billion Euros in international securities and Eurobonds, 267.1 million Euros in short-term liquidity deposits in foreign banks and a full 377.5 million Euros in loans granted directly to international financial institutions.

This is a deeply problematic structure. Over a third of all assets and liquidity collected by BKT are not located in Albania, but are distributed across international markets in the form of Eurobonds, deposits and interbank loans, leaving only 66% of assets for the domestic market.

In addition to draining the national economy of liquidity, which flows abroad and does not finance the country's economic growth, these massive transfers carry a major regulatory question mark. The bank's official reports do not disclose in which specific countries this money is invested and what risk class (credit rating) these foreign instruments have.

But it is rumored that BKT has also invested in African stocks or bonds or Azerbaijan, countries that are not known for high investment safety. Being the largest bank in the country, BKT's strategy causes significant costs to Albania./Kapital

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