Sumitomo Mitsui and Garanti ink third Japanese-Turkish bank deal

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

DAILY NEWS photo, Hasan ALTINIŞIK

Japanese megabank, the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC), has signed a cooperation agreement with Turkey’s Garanti Bank, making it the third Japanese bank to join forces with a Turkish lender since September.

Sumitomo Mitsui’s banking unit and Garanti, Turkey’s largest bank by market value, will cooperate on export credit agency financing and advice on private-public projects, as well as structured finance, Sumitomo Mitsui said in a statement released today.

The cooperation agreement eyes handling syndicated loans and helping Japanese companies conduct business in Turkey in the Turkish Lira, as well as introducing Garanti Bank to Japanese businesses looking to expand into Turkey.

SMBC established a representative office in Istanbul last February and has been expanding its operations since then.

Japan’s second-biggest bank by market value joins Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group in tying up agreements with Turkish banks to capitalize on the country’s credit demand. The three Tokyo-based megabanks are seeking to boost lending abroad, as persistent deflation discourages borrowing at home.

Mizuho Corporate Bank in September signed an agreement with Akbank, while Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi partnered Turkey’s İşbank in October to provide services to Japanese and Turkish businesses.

The unit of Japan’s biggest banking group, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi also won approval to set up a bank in Turkey with capital of $300 million