29 banks, financial institutions operate in Algeria

Twenty banks and nine financial institutions, including five specialized in leasing, are operating in Algeria, the Bank of Algeria (BA) disclosed in a report. According to BA’s latest report about the banks and financial institutions authorized by the central bank until 2 January 2013, there are six state-owned banks (since 1960) and fourteen foreign-owned banks, including a mixed-capital, in Algeria. In 2012, two leasing companies, namely Ijar Leasing Algeria and El Djazair IJAR were authorized. No bank was authorized last year. State-owned banks network had 1,083 branches by end 2011, while private banks and financial institutions network had 343 branches agencies, according to the report.