Mr. Cilingir is an economist by profession and has successfully completed numerous training courses related to banking and regulatory matters.

Mr. Ekmel Cilingir has over two decades of experience in the banking industry. Starting at Akbank (Turkey) in 1999, he later held managerial positions at BNP Paribas Fortis (Malta) and Credit Europe Bank and finally joined European Merchant Bank UAB (EMBank) in Lithuania as a founding partner and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board. He still holds this position and is responsible for the bank’s strategic oversight, external leadership on critical high level regulatory and political relationships and promoting the highest standard of corporate governance, besides other duties.

In his positions, he managed Operations, Treasury, Trade Finance, Deposit Product and Credits within corporate and retail banking segments. He’s known for his analytical approach, design and problem solving skills and dedication to maintaining high quality standards.

Mr. Ekmel Cilingir has extensive international banking experience. His long employment with BNP Paribas Fortis, which lasted over thirteen years working as Operations and Treasury Manager and eventually becoming COO played a key role in this aspect.

During this period, Mr. Ekmel Cilingir was also responsible for intercompany relationships with other BNP Paribas entities within Europe. This collaboration focused on IT integration, treasury, banking operations, credits, outsourcing activities, and management of customer relationships.

Mr. Cilingir was part of Malta Bankers’ Association, serving on the Executive Committee. Malta Bankers’ Association was established in May 1962 as a coordinating and lobbying body on sectoral issues and policies for banks operating in Malta.

Mr. Cilingir was also a board member of Financial Markets Association Malta (FMAM), an entity directly supported by Central Bank of Malta.