Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at August 7th, 2008

Borusan Holding, operating in steel, luxury cars and logistics, obtained a syndicated loan of $170 million at a consortium, which consists of eight banks; including ABN AMRO Bank, Denizbank, Fortis, Garanti, Finansbank-National Bank of Greece and Société Générale.

Borusan will invest the sum in the energy, logistic and steel sectors. The company plans to invest $100 million into a hot roller mill, in a joint venture with ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel maker. The rest of the credit will be invested in energy and the Borusan Logistic-owned Gemlik Port in the city of Bursa in the eastern Marmara Sea. (more…)

Posted by meb at July 28th, 2008

CBRT Interest Rates
Borrowing Lending
Overnight 16.75 20.25
Late Liquidity 12.75 23.25

CBRT Exchange Rates
FX Buying FX Selling
Dollar 1.1994 1.2052
Euro 1.8878 1.8969

source: Central Bank of Turkey

Posted by meb at July 26th, 2008

Garanti Bank has begun to offer a new “non resident mortgage” to foreigners looking to purchase property in Turkey. With the new service the bank will enable foreigners to obtain lira or foreign exchange indexed loans with a maximum 240-month maturity. Foreigners will also be able to obtain loans of YTL 500,000 or the equivalent amount in foreign currency.
source: Turkish Daily News

Posted by meb at July 4th, 2008

Garanti Bank has been chosen as Turkey’s best bank by Euromoney magazine, receiving the Euromoney Award for Excellence for the ninth time.
In a statement on Thursday, the bank said the award came as a result of the sustained growth rates, success in delivering loans, rapid spread of branches, leading role in the mortgage market, customer-oriented service mentality and the international confidence in (more…)

Posted by meb at June 11th, 2008

Taib Bank BSC, the Bahrain-based investment bank controlled by Dubai’s ruling sheikh, said its Turkish unit bought Istanbul-based corporate finance advisors PDF. Taib Yatırım, the brokerage unit of Taib YatırımBank, bought PDF in cash and shares to expand its investment banking services in Turkey, (more…)

Posted by meb at June 10th, 2008

While household debt in Turkey has increased dramatically in the last couple of years, the ratio of debt to total disposable income is still in the low figures, the latest data show.

According to the Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO), debt shot up to 29.5 percent of total income last year, from 7.5 percent in 2003. In most Western countries, however, households are facing worse challenges than those in Turkey, with the number of bankruptcies in Western countries skyrocketing. In Canada for example, many aren’t keeping their heads above water, with total household debt at a record $1.1 trillion and consumers owing 124 percent of their real disposable income. In the US, the figure is equally worrisome: With consumer credit reaching $2.56 trillion in April, US household debt ballooned to 136 percent of disposable income last year, according to the Federal Reserve. (more…)

Posted by meb at June 8th, 2008

Turkey’s Fiba Holding, which sold 46 percent shares in Finansbank for $2.76 billion to the National Bank of Greece (NBG) in 2006, used the money obtained from the sale to invest in several sectors, including energy, retail and shipbuilding, according to the firm’s owner.

“We have used a portion of the money in energy, retail and shipbuilding investments. We have also added capital to the banks abroad. All money is spent now,” Hüsnü Özyeğin, owner of Fiba Group, said during the opening ceremony of a cinema theater in Gaziantep last week. (more…)

Posted by meb at June 6th, 2008

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has launched talks with a bank in Turkey over entering the Turkish market, QIB’s CEO has stated.

CEO Salah al-Jaidah told the Financial Times that QIB is now looking to acquire an institution in Turkey in an effort to take advantage of opportunities for growth there and across Central Asia, while also considering Egypt as a base for North Africa. The bank has already signed a memorandum of understanding for a new bank in Kazakhstan. (more…)