Regulator issues new banking licenses

ANKARA

The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) has granted licenses to Enpara and Colendi Bank to establish banks.

Enpara, which offers services on digital channels under the roof of QNB Finansbank, has given the green light to operate as a deposit bank. Enpara Bank will be established with a capital of $300 million.

With the license it secured from the BDDK and an initial capital of 2 billion Turkish Liras, Colendi will operate as a digital deposit bank.

Also, Hedef Yatırım Bankası, an investment bank, has secured a license to operate in the Turkish banking sector. Hedef Yatırım had obtained permission to launch a bank in April last year.

There were a total of 55 banks in Türkiye as of June, with nearly 11,000 branches and around 207,000 employees, according to the data from the BDDK.

The combined net profit of the local banks increased from 169 billion liras in the January-June period of 2022 to 250 billion liras in the first half of 2023.

The banking industry’s total assets grew by 33 percent from the end of 2022 to stand at 19.1 trillion liras, whereas loan volume rose by 32 percent to 10 trillion liras.

The non-performing loans to total loans ratio was only 1.64 percent.

Deposits collected by local banks rose nearly 32 percent to 11.7 trillion liras.