Credit Suisse Group ups forecast for banks

Bloomberg

"Turkish banks’ strong relative earnings performance is not fully in the prices," wrote analysts including Istanbul-based Akın Tüzün in a note Thursday. "The consensus earnings will need to be adjusted upward."

Profit will grow 8 percent this quarter from the first three months as loan losses slow and lower interest rates boost consumer credit, Credit Suisse said.

The health of the banking system will help drive Turkey’s economy to early recovery, Economy Minister Ali Babacan said on June 9.

Banking industry profits rose 30 percent from a year earlier in the first four months to 7.2 billion Turkish Liras ($4.6 billion), Tevfik Bilgin, head of the banking regulator said in an interview on June 8.

Among Turkish banks, Credit Suisse said its top picks are Garanti Bank and Vakıfbank, both rated "outperform." Akbank, the lender part-owned by Citigroup, was upgraded to "neutral" from "underperform" and İşbank was downgraded to "neutral."