Odeabank inaugurates first branch in Istanbul
ISTANBUL
The first branch of Bank Audi’s local unit is opened in Maslak Olive Plaza.
Odeabank, the Turkish unit of the Lebanon-based Bank Audi, has opened its first branch in Istanbul.Located in Maslak Olive Plaza, the bank provides commercial and corporate services as well as retail banking. The bank’s headquarters are also in the same building.
Bank Audi is Lebanon’s largest bank and the fourth largest bank in the Arab world. The bank was not given permission to open a branch in Turkey under the Bank Audi label because it conflicts with the name of the German automaker.
Six more branches
Odeabank aims to employ 2,000 people in the first five years and plans to open a total of seven branches in Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir by the end of the year.
Audibank was the first lender to obtain a banking license last year in Turkey after a 12-year hiatus. Turkey’s Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) authorized Odeabank to start banking activities Oct. 2.
Bank Audi’s chief executive officer, Samir Hanna, told daily Hürriyet in May that he believed Turkey would become the bank’s second largest market after Lebanon within two years.
Bank to focus on Turkey
VIENNA – Reuters
Unicredit’s Bank Austria, emerging Europe’s biggest lender, said yesterday it would maintain its leading position in central and eastern European (CEE) region through investments in the strategic markets of the Czech Republic, Turkey and Russia.
“The local funding capabilities of many CEE subsidiaries have improved through strong growth in deposits, which exceeded growth in loans,” said Gianni Franco, Bank Austria’s deputy chief executive and head of the CEE division. “Despite recently blurring economic indications for the CEE region, we stick to our strategy of focused investments in selected growth markets,” Franco said. The bank’s CEE operations helped it weather financial crisis without having to seek state aid. Net profits surged to 1.1 billion euros from just 3 million in the first nine months of 2011.