Banking profits drop 10 percent

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Turkey’s banking sector profits were down to 19.847 billion Turkish Liras in 2011 with a 10.3 percent year-on-year drop, according to figures by the Turkish Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK).
The sector’s assets reached 1.218 trillion liras with a 21 percent year-on-year rise in 2011. In the first half of 2011 the sector grew by 13.8 percent, but the pace eased down in the second half due to new regulations increasing loan costs, widening of the interest corridor and decreasing funding via repo auctions as part of monetary tightening policy of the Central Bank.

Increases in the amount of consumption loans in annual basis also slowed in the second half of 2011. The rate of increase in consumption loans hit 50.6 percent in June 2011 in annual basis. But the loan growth rate for 2011 dropped to 38.6 percent as the Central Bank hiked reserve ratios last June for the consumption loans.

The total amount of loans in 2011 reached 682.9 billion liras as of December, increasing 29.9 percent compared to 2010. The official year-end loan growth target was 25 percent.

The Turkish banking industry employed 195,292 people and banks had 10,518 branches as of December 2011. Banks opened 11 branches abroad last year.