KentBank continues to operate successfully, grow and develop its business and, according to official data, is still the fastest growing bank in Croatia. It is part of the Süzer Group from Turkey, and its entry into the Croatian market has proven to be a successful foreign investment. Dr. Hasan Ecesoy, President of the Management Board of KentBank, Ivan Babić and Nikolina Cvitanović, members of the Management Board of KentBank, talk to Diplomacy&Commerce magazine about the bank’s development, projects, expansion and opening of new branches across Croatia.
DR. HASAN ECESOY, President of the Management Board of KentBank
1. KentBank has confirmed its status as one of the fastest growing banks in Croatia, achieving significant growth in assets and operations for several years in a row. The Bank’s growth has been achieved while maintaining the stability and quality of its portfolio. What do the numbers show us and in which direction are you moving?
I am proud to reflect on 2025 as a year in which KentBank’s transformation moved from vision to measurable reality. In a market where change is accelerating and customer expectations are rising fast, we chose not to follow trends but to set them – with discipline, clarity and a genuine commitment to the people and businesses we serve. Our financial results in 2025 reflect the strength and consistency of our business model. Total assets grew by 13%, reaching €935 million, well above the sector average. Total loans expanded by 11% and deposits by 13%, demonstrating balanced and healthy growth across our balance sheet. We achieved the highest profit in KentBank’s history, reaching EUR 10 millio, a milestone that underscores our ability to create sustainable value. Even more notably, we significantly outperformed the market in total operating income, achieving a strong 7% increase. However, for us it is not only about how much we grow, but how we grow. Growth
must be sustainable, controlled, and based on strong risk management. We also achieved outperformance in disciplined NPL ratio of 1.8%, which is a clear reflection of our operational efficiency and the relevance of our services in a competitive landscape. Our direction remains the same: to facilitate the financial success of our clients by delivering simple, transparent and easily accessible financial and solutions. We will continue to invest in digital capabilities to shorten the path from a client’s need to a solution, to invest in our people and technology, and to grow in a way that is sustainable, responsible and genuinely valuable to those we serve.
2. KentBank is part of the Süzer Group from Turkey. Your entry into the Croatian market has proven to be a successful foreign investment. What makes you different from others on the market for potential clients, investors…?
Our advantage lies in the combination of international perspective and local market understanding. Being part of the Süzer Group gives us access to broader experience, international expertise, and a strong network, while at the same time we operate as a bank that understands the Croatian market, local client needs, and the specific business environment. What differentiates us is speed, flexibility, and a personalized approach. We do not offer generic solutions, but aim to understand each client’s specific situation and provide solutions that create real value. This is where a bank of our size has an advantage: we are agile enough to react quickly, yet stable enough to be a long-term partner. A key part of our development is also digital transformation. With the KentPro application, we have taken a step towards simpler and more transparent digital-first everyday banking, allowing users to have a clearer overview of their finances in one place. However, for us, digital does not mean distance. Digital is there to make everyday banking easier; people are there for what truly matters. This balance is not a compromise; it is our competitive advantage. We do not aim to be everything to everyone; instead, we focus on building depth and quality in relationships where context truly matters. This is the principle we build on: Digital-First, Always Human.
IVAN BABIĆ, Member of the Management Board of KentBank
1. Kent bank drew attention with “Festival of Ideas” event. What is the plan for this year, what topics and content can we expect?
The Festival of Ideas has proven to be a strong format over the past editions, as it created space for conversations that were not strictly formal, but open, authentic, and rooted in real experiences. Last year’s edition confirmed that there is strong interest in content that brings together different perspectives and gives visibility to ideas that can have real value. For us, it is particularly important that the Festival is not just an event where ideas are discussed, but a platform that supports people who have initiative. Our focus is on young, ambitious entrepreneurs and individuals who want to turn their ideas into concrete projects. Very often, what they lack is space, visibility, support, and a clearer path to execution. The direction we are taking this year will become clearer soon, but our goal remains the same – to preserve the authenticity of the Festival while further developing it into a platform that creates even greater value for participants, the audience, and the wider community.
2. What makes you stand out on the market is I KentClub. Remind our readers, what KentClub means and what was the idea when you started with this project?
KentClub was not designed just as a premium addon, but as a space with a clear purpose. The idea was to create an environment where clients can have meaningful conversations, hold meetings, connect, and develop business opportunities, rather than simply come to the bank for transactions. KentClub combines banking, business space, and networking. It provides additional value by allowing clients to use the Bank’s space for business meetings, presentations, promotions, or private gatherings. In that sense, the bank moves beyond being a place for operational interactions and becomes a space where relationships are built, ideas are exchanged, and decisions are made. An important step forward was the opening of Kent-Club in Osijek. This confirmed that we do not see this concept as limited to Zagreb, but as something we want to develop in other regions where there is a need for such an approach. KentClub in Osijek has further strengthened our presence in Slavonia and reinforced our intention to be closer to our clients—not only through banking products, but through the experience and relationships we build with them.
NIKOLINA CVITANOVIĆ, Member of the Management Board of KentBank
1. The bank currently has 17 offices in Croatia. In 2025, the number of employees also increased. You recently opened office in Osijek as the first location in Slavonia. How important is regional distribution, and how do business entities differ primarily by region, what is important to them, and how would you assess business activities across Croatia from the bank’s perspective?
Regional distribution is not just about Bank’s presence and accessibility – from a risk management perspective, it also means a deeper understanding of different economic realities and their resilience to change. Our recent expansion into new branches in Osijek and Slavonski Brod has both symbolic and business significance. On one hand, it continues the legacy and deep connection with Slavonia that began with Banka Brod, and on the other, it clearly reflects our belief in this market and in a region defined by strong, hardworking, and long-term oriented entrepreneurs. These are qualities that are very visible in the way our clients grow and manage their businesses. At the same time, we are further strengthening our presence in Istria with the opening of a new branch in Poreč. Istria represents a specific business environment – dynamic, internationally oriented, and strongly connected to tourism and service industries. It is a region with higher liquidity, faster capital turnover, and clients who highly value speed, clarity, and reliability in their day-to-day banking. At the same time, we continue to look at further opportunities in Zagreb as well – but we will have more to share on that in due course. While certain economic pressures and challenges are shared across all regions, differences across Croatia are becoming increasingly pronounced – in terms of economic structure, cost pressures, and labour market dynamics. What remains consistent across all environments is that service quality and speed of decision-making are no longer an added value – they are a standard that clients expect. This is why our approach continues to evolve: we are building on our strength of deeply understanding each client’s specific context and supporting their business, while delivering that insight through fast, simple, and recognisable client experiences. It is precisely this combination of understanding and speed that we see as our key advantage – the ability to turn high-quality assessment into timely decisions across all segments of our business. This approach, which the market has already responded to very positively, can now be further scaled through processes, data, and digital solutions – allowing us to deliver a consistent client experience regardless of region or business complexity.
2. In the bank, you are responsible, among other things, for the area of risk management and control and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. How much have circumstances changed in terms of global uncertainty and how much work do you have in this sector? What are the most common irregularities that you discover?
Geopolitical developments, inflation, rising costs, regulatory expectations, and technological change are all happening simultaneously and reinforcing one another. This environment makes risks less predictable, but also significantly more interconnected. In this context, the focus of risk management is shifting from individual events to the continuous assessment of resilience – of clients, portfolios, and internal processes. The key question is no longer just how a business performs today, but how resilient it is to change: cost increases, shifts in demand, or disruptions in supply chains. This is why we increasingly work with scenarios – assessing the flexibility of business models, their sensitivity to cost pressures, and their ability to adapt. When it comes to irregularities, in practice we still most often encounter not sophisticated attempts of misconduct, but gaps – in understanding regulatory requirements or processes. In an environment that is becoming more complex and demanding, this is not surprising.At the same time, digitalisation is introducing a new dimension of risk – from cybersecurity threats to increasingly complex transaction patterns. Although still relatively rare, scenarios in which technological advancements, particularly AI, are used to bypass rules are becoming more sophisticated and represent a serious challenge for the entire system. Our role is not only to identify risk, but to understand it in context and translate it into better decisions. I strongly believe that risk management should not slow down growth, but guide it – its real value lies in making uncertainty more understandable and decisions more informed. Organizations that have people and processes capable of quickly understanding, assessing, and taking responsibility have a real competitive advantage. That is where I see the strength of my team and the function I lead.