Awards for Excellence 2016
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In dramatic contrast to its increasingly regressive politics, Turkey’s banking sector remains among the most advanced and sophisticated in the developing markets. Over the past 15 years, a combination of high profitability and outstanding growth opportunities in a relatively open market has fuelled intense competition between the country’s lenders.
As a result, leading private sector players Akbank, Garanti Bank and Isbank – and even second-tier houses such as Yapi Kredi, Vakifbank and Sekerbank – have been at the forefront of innovation in terms of technology, risk management and funding. Banking customers in Turkey have access to a range of digital banking facilities not available in many developed markets, while foreign investors have developed an almost insatiable appetite for Turkish bank debt in an ever-expanding range of formats.
Curbs on consumer lending and currency weakness have put a slight dampener on profitability across the sector over the past three years – however, returns on equity for the top tier remain comfortably above banks’ cost of capital, while double-digit growth rates last year were unrivalled in most of emerging Europe.