Among all North African countries, Algeria continues to have the best excuses for the state of its economy. Under foreign control until 1956, the country faced nationalization schemes for several decades before conflict reemerged within its own borders during a civil war between Islamists and the secular government. Recent years saw a return to at least a semblance of normality, but the obstacles on the macroeconomic level are also apparent across domestic industries, most notably the country’s banking sector. While its troubled past might serve as an excuse for delayed development it does not free Algeria from following its own regulations and standards, however new or developing. While much of Algeria’s industry remains in the hands of the state, new liberalization and privatization schemes, buoyed by strong macroeconomic growth from increased prices in natural resource commodities, will encourage and necessitate a strong industry and market of financial intermediaries, including banks
