Odea devoted to Turkish market, lawsuit for Audi name continues

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet

Bank Audi is determined to grow rapidly in Turkey with its to-be-found unit Bank Odea, as the lender could not register the name Audi because it conflicts with the name of the German auto maker.

The Turkish courts have decided it cannot enter Turkey under the name Bank Audi but the case is still ongoing, Bank Audi’s Chief Executive Officer Samir Hanna said in an interview with daily Hürriyet,
The bank planned to hire 500 to 600 local employees by the end of the year, he said.

Turkey second market

Hanna also said he believed that within two years Turkey would become the bank’s second largest market after Lebanon.

Bank Audi, or Odea Bank, does not plan to compete with local Turkish banks that have 1,000 branches in Turkey.

“We’ll talk about competing with the large banks once we’ve reached that size. We are a new bank.
That’s why our strategy is about visibility,” said Hanna. Bank Audi plans to divide Turkey’s major cities into different districts and open five or six banks in a region to be followed by another 7-8 banks in another region of the city, thereby increasing the bank’s presence and recognition.