Financial activities in Algeria continue despite violence

Despite the violent attacks in Algeria, sources in the Arab Banking Organization in Bahrain said the ABO had signed an agreement to set up a branch in Algeria in the form of an independent bank.

The bank's capital will be $20 million, of which the ABO will contribute 80% and the rest will be offered by a number of banks in the Gulf area and London.

The ABO is considered the third foreign bank to open a branch in Algeria since the beginning of the terrorist attacks 6 years ago. US-based Citibank was the first bank to do so, when it upgraded the representation office to a full branch and increased its capital and the number of its staff.

Citibank said it considers its expansion in the North African region necessary to boost the movement of US investments in the region. Some of the Tunisian banks are planning to open branches in Algeria as well.

Italian banks are studying the possibility of entering the Algerian market if they get the green light from the European Union, which seems divided over the Algerian crisis.