İşbank CEO to step down by March end

ISTANBUL

The chief executive of Turkish private lender İşbank said on Jan. 6 that he will step down after a general assembly meeting in March, citing a term limit.

“I will leave the office of the chief executive officer, which I have occupied since April 1, 2011, with great pride, happiness and honor, on the date of the general assembly at the end of March,” Bali told a news conference yesterday.

Bali said he would remain on the board of the bank if the general assembly approves.

Bali has been working at the bank for 35 years, the last 10 of which have been as chief executive.

The bank is governed according to principles rather than arbitrary decisions, Bali said, expressing that a person could work at senior levels for up to 35 years.

During his helm at the bank, which was established in 1924 by the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Turkish banking sector faced many regional conflicts, a defeated coup attempt, deadly terror attacks, cross-border military operations, disputes with the EU and the United States, natural disasters and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Deputy Chief Executive Hakan Aran is expected to take over as the CEO.

“He is the deputy chief executive in charge of technology. He is very experienced, and a colleague with extraordinary skills, fit for this period the banking system has evolved to,” Bali said.

İşbank is among the country’s largest private banks with total assets of 597 billion Turkish Liras ($77.5 billion) as of September 2020.