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EBRD acquires 25% in FYR Macedonia’s TTK Bank
Investment to help restructure bank, and to promote its growth
The EBRD is acquiring 25 per cent of TTK Bank AD Skopje, a medium-sized bank
in FYR Macedonia, to promote its restructuring and growth plans.
Part of that restructuring process includes the implementation of an
Institutional Building Plan that will help develop TTK into a modern,
efficient institution. The IBP will particularly help raise corporate
governance standards to international levels, strengthen control processes and
risk management procedures, and train staff. The IBP will be financed through
technical cooperation funds from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Antero Baldaia, Director of the EBRD’s Bank Equity team, said the Bank’s
investment will help make TTK a more efficient bank and help strengthen its
finances to reach more SMEs, therefore supporting economic growth at the
grass-roots levels. A big challenge in FYR Macedonia is to consolidate the
many financial institutions into more efficient, streamlined institutions, and
this project demonstrates exactly that, he added.
Established in July 2006 following the merger of two smaller banks –
Teteks-Kreditna Banka AD Skopje, and Tetovska Banka AD Tetovo – TTK is based
in FYR Macedonia’s capital city Skopje. While the bank operates in 6 locations
in Skopje and 16 in another 11 cities throughout the country, the Tetovo
region in North West of FYR Macedonia remains TTK’s stronghold. The bank’s
largest shareholder is Teteks, a textile firm from Tetovo.
Gligorie Gogovski, Chairman of the Board of Directors at TTK, said the bank is
growing into a major financier of SMEs in FYR Macedonia, and having the EBRD
as a shareholder will help raise its position on the local banking market
through the quality of its services and its professionalism. Atanas Spiroski,
General Manager at the bank added that TTK already has a client base of more
than 7,000 entities, and that today’s signing supports TTK’s strategy to
expand its operations.
The EBRD is one of the largest investors in FYR Macedonia, having committed
more than €406 million in 25 projects.
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