Bank of China to establish deposit bank in Turkey

ANKARA

REUTERS photo

The Bank of China (BOC) has received permission to operate a deposit bank in Turkey through the investment of $300 million, Turkey’s banking watchdog said late Jan. 13, according to Anadolu Agency. 

In a statement, the country’s Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) said BOC had brought the “required capital” and would apply to start operating shortly.      

The bank, the world’s seventh largest and the third largest in China, has been interested in Turkey for a long time. BOC launched preparations to establish a commercial bank in the country in 2015 after establishing a representative office in 2011.      

BOC will become the second Chinese lender to operate in Turkey after the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), which purchased a majority stake in Tekstilbank last year.      

Meanwhile, the BDDK recently said three foreign banks had voiced a strong interest in Turkey and were likely to enter the Turkish market in 2017.

BDDK head Mehmet Ali Akben said last month that the lenders were from the Gulf region that had banking licenses in Turkey, including the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, which recently opened a representative office in Turkey. 

Akben said there was also an American financial group that had plans to enter the Turkish market.