Late last year Turkish state lender Ziraat Bank hit the landmark of 100 international branches in 18 countries, the bank announced Friday.
Two new branches in Montenegro in the cities of Bar and Budva put the bank over the top, it said in a statement.
Ziraat branches serve not only as banks, but also provide insurance, leasing, portfolio management, payment and finance technology services, said the bank. İlker Met, head of Ziraat's enterprise architecture group, stressed that these branches help spur trade between Turkey and other countries. "We try to be part of investments to Turkey from where we're active," he added. He also said the last time a Turkish bank offered services in Bar, Montenegro was back in 1878. Ziraat has the most branches abroad in Bosnia-Herzegovina, with 33, followed by Azerbaijan with 13, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus with eight and Germany and Turkmenistan with seven each.
