Banking sector posts $3.4B net profit in Jan-May

ANKARA-Anadolu Agency

Turkey's banking sector net profit totaled 19.7 billion Turkish liras (nearly $3.4 billion) in January-May this year, the country's banking watchdog reported on July 4.

According to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, total assets of the sector surged 17.3% year-on-year to reach 4.27 trillion Turkish liras ($732 billion).

Loans -- the biggest sub-category of assets -- went up 8.9% on a yearly basis to amount to some 2.55 trillion Turkish liras ($437 billion).

On the liabilities side, deposits held at lenders in Turkey were 2.27 trillion Turkish liras (some $390 billion) in the five-month period, marking an annual hike of 19.8%.

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira (USD/TRY) exchange rate was around 5.93 at the end of May this year, versus 4.49 at the end of the same month in 2018.