Tougher year for Turkey's banks

Turkey's banks will face a tougher year in 2010 than in 2009 when net profit rose almost 50 per cent, but loan and deposit growth is seen at 15 per cent and bad loans are falling, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) said.

The agency's Head Tevfik Bilgin told a press conference that net profit for the sector rose to 20.08 billion lira (Dh48.66bn) in 2009, the result of higher net interest income. Assets rose by 14 per cent and loans by 6.9 per cent to 393 billion lira, with lending activity recovering from a low in March 2009, despite a steep economic contraction in Turkey estimated at six per cent last year.

The slowdown led to a huge rise of 55.3 per cent in non-performing loans for a ratio of 5.3 per cent in 2009. Small and medium-sized enterprises were particularly badly hit by the crisis, Bilgin said. In 2008, Turkey's banks saw loans rise 29 per cent, with the rate of non-performing loans at 3.6 per cent. The bad loan ratio was currently at 5.2 per cent, a slight improvement from 2009. (Reuters)

Strict regulations stemming from a 2001 financial crisis helped Turkey's banks stay resilient and well-capitalised throughout the global financial crisis.

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