Kuveyt Türk planing expansion in 2014

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

Islamic lender Kuveyt Türk unveils hopeful expansion plans after recording strong financial outlook in 2013, the bank’s CEO has said in a statement.

Istanbul-based participation bank Kuveyt Türk, which raised its profit by 20 percent to 300 million Turkish Liras last year, announced ambitious plans for 2014, including establishing a bank in Germany.

“We are aiming to reach 320 branches across Turkey, opening a branch in Qatar and establishing a bank in Germany in 2014. In addition to this, as a first, we are planning to issue a Malaysian ringgit- or dollar-denominated sukuk in Malaysia,” Kuveyt Türk CEO Ufuk Uyan was quoted in a written statement released by the lender on Feb. 19.

The Istanbul-based bank, which is a subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House, announced it had applied to Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) in order to carry out its loan and deposit operations in Germany in October.

According to yesterday’s statement, while the banks’ profit soared to 300 million liras with a 20 percent increase, its total assets reached 2.9 billion liras after a 37 percent jump. The bank has opened 47 branches within Turkey, extending the number of its branches operating domestically and abroad to 267. k HDN