BDDK head leaves his post tomorrow

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

BDDK chairman Tevfik Bilgin speaks at the Aegean Refion Chamber of Industry on March 14. Tevfik Bilgin completes nine years at his post tomorrow. DHA photo

The head of Turkey’s Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), Tevfik Bilgin, leaves his post tomorrow. He has been in the position for nine years.

“He made significant efforts to maintain a transparent and reviewable banking system,” said General Manager of İş Bank Adnan Bali, according to daily Akşam. During Bilgin’s tenure, the banking industry lowered risks to manageable levels and delivered rapid growth, Bali said.

The outgoing president of the BDDK witnessed the 2008 crisis, considered the worst financial crisis since the Second World War. He also headed BDDK during the re-structuring period in banking and financial industries after the 2001 economic crisis in Turkey.

Deniz Bank General Manager Hakan Ateş said Bilgin had experienced a very successful tenure. Bilgin had an important role in Turkish banking setting an example to the whole world, said Mehmet Sönmez, the General Manager of Eurobank Tekfen.

Upon his resignation, Bilgin sent a brief farewell letter, along with a copy of award-winning documentary “Inside Job” (2010), to his close circle and prominent finance sector figures. The documentary focuses on the financial crisis that broke out in the U.S. in 2008.

Successor to Bilgin

The final decision on Bilgin’s successor has yet to be made by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to sources familiar with the matter. A recent regulation that canceled a ruling limiting senior executives on public administrative boards to two years will become law soon. According to the new regulation, Bilgin can be reassigned to his post for five more years. “Bilgin established a very good dialogue with the banking industry. The most important step was renewal of the Banking Code [during this period]. The industry has become more transparent,” said Osman Akyüz, the General Secretary of Participation Banks of Turkey.