Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at September 8th, 2008

An agreement concluded between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Turkish Republic and ratified on June 3 by Parliament officially come into effect yesterday after being published in the Official Gazette, enabling the EIB to open branches and representative offices in Turkey.

The EIB has a special mission of extending favorable loans to support investment in European countries and in countries that are involved in the EU accession process. The bank can provide loans with repayment terms starting up to eight years after disbursement of funds and terms extending up to 30 years. (more…)

Posted by meb at September 6th, 2008

Akbank, Yapı Kredi and İşbank were downgraded by JPMorgan Chase &Co., which cited high interest rates and lower business volumes during the Ramadan holiday season.

Akbank and Yapı Kredi were lowered to “neutral” from “overweight” and İşbank, Turkey’s biggest listed lender, was cut to “underweight” from “neutral,” analysts, including Paul Formanko, wrote in a note to clients dated Friday. (more…)

Posted by meb at September 4th, 2008

The Turkish Treasury saved YTL 600 million as interest rates dropped by 3 percentage points in August amidst more positive markets following a Constitutional Court decision to refrain from banning the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

The Treasury borrowed less in August as compound interest rates fell from an average of 21.6 percent to 18.8 percent as a result of a significant drop in economic risks from domestic political disruptions.

This decline in risk is expected to ease the burden on the domestic market further. According to the national borrowing strategy formulated and continually updated by the Treasury, YTL 15.9 billion of debt payment, including domestic and external debt, will be made in September and October. In a recent report the Treasury said it had planned for a total of YTL 149.7 billion in debt service for 2008 and that YTL 82.2 billion had already been paid by the end of July. (more…)

Posted by meb at August 27th, 2008

Although foreign investors inflow to Turkey has been rising over the past few years, the country’s ‘non-investment grade’ level remains unchanged. This is not only a problem for foreign investors; it also is a problem for all newborn children in Turkey, says Ersin Özince, the Banks Association of Turkey chairman, urging change…

There is no need to grade the Turkish government’s economic performance separately, as Turkey’s current credit rating is already an indicator of its economic report card, according to the chairman of the Banks Association of Turkey.

Both prior to and following the court case to possibly close down the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Turkey’s credit rating in the eyes of all rating agencies remained at a “non-investment grade” level, said Ersin Özince, the managing director of İşbank, Turkey’s largest publicly traded bank. (more…)

Posted by meb at August 26th, 2008

Capital Markets Board (SPK) President Turan Erol has said Turkey’s capital markets have channeled $24 billion in financial resources to non-financial sectors since 2004.

These transfers of funds took the form of initial and secondary public offerings, capital increases through cash and dividends additions, private bonds and commercial papers.

In an interview with the Anatolia news agency, Erol said the biggest year for transfers to non-financial sectors was 2007, when $8.76 billion was sent to companies’ coffers from capital markets. “Considering that 2008 has not ended yet and assuming that the current pace will continue until the end of the year, the resources transferred to the non-financial sectors from capital markets will likely surpass 2007,” he predicted. This indicates that Turkey’s capital markets are maintaining their vitality despite a shaky political atmosphere and global economic turbulence, he added. (more…)

Posted by meb at August 16th, 2008

Akbank has successfully obtained a 1 billion euro syndicated loan from a group of 53 banks from 20 countries. The signing ceremony for the syndicated loan, which falls due in one year and was extended at the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) plus 0.75 percent, was held yesterday in İstanbul.

Akbank General Manager Zafer Kurtul, together with Managing Director Bülent Adanır and representatives from the 53 lending banks, attended the ceremony.

Noting the significance of the syndicated loan having been extended amid a troubled financial atmosphere marked by major liquidity problems, Kurtul said the process represented “the highest syndicated loan amount” granted to a developing country since the beginning of 2008. (more…)

Posted by meb at August 15th, 2008

Citigroup is not planning to leave the Turkish market and it would be very surprising for the bank if a global player decides to leave Turkey, Referans daily reported Steve Bideshi, the chief executive of Citigroup as saying on Friday.

It would not be understandable to leave a market like Turkey which is growing and has a good economic atmosphere, Referans quoted Bisdeshi as saying. “People and strategies could be changed if things do not go well. But a market should not be quit.” (more…)

Posted by meb at August 15th, 2008

Halkbank, Turkey’s second largest public bank after Ziraat, achieved a 30 percent jump in net profit in the first half of 2008 over the same period a year ago, for a total YTL 640 million.

Speaking in İstanbul at a press conference to disclose the bank’s recent financial statements, Halkbank General Manager Hüseyin Aydın said the bank achieved 19.7 percent in deposits, far exceeding the sector average of 13.2 percent for the same period. Halkbank also surpassed the rest of the Turkish banking industry in the first half in terms of asset growth over the previous year, he said, noting that Halkbank increased its assets by 14.4 percent against the sector average of 8.2 percent. The bank has YTL 46 billion in assets. (more…)