National Bank of Algeria

Banque Nationale d’Algérie was founded in 1966, a few years after Algerian independence, and took over the activities of the colonial-era Crédit foncier d'Algérie et de Tunisie. Its establishment formed part of the Algerian government’s economic policy strategy to build a national banking system and support the financing of the state-directed economy. This included, for example, the financing of agriculture and the rural economy, a function which from 1982 was transferred to the specialized banking institution BADR. With the gradual liberalization of the Algerian economy from the 1990s onward, the banking system was also reformed. In this context, BNA modernized its structures and activities while retaining a leading role in the national economy.

In 2020, Banque Nationale d’Algérie became the first Algerian state-owned bank to introduce Islamic banking. This activity proved successful, and in 2025 the bank planned to establish a dedicated subsidiary for Islamic finance.