Turkey’s Ziraat to launch Islamic bank on anniversary of Ottoman’s Istanbul conquest

ISTANBUL - Reuters

Turkey’s Ziraat Bankası General Manager Hüseyin Aydın has told reporters that the state-run lender plans to launch its off-shoot, Ziraat Katılım Bankası, an Islamic participation bank, on May, 29, which is the anniversary of the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul.

“The 300 million dollar-equivalent Turkish Lira capital has been provided by the Treasury,” Aydın said March 5 while speaking to reporters in Istanbul on the sidelines of a joint meeting of the Union of Arab Banks (UAB) and the Banks Association of Turkey (TBB), which he personally chairs.

The participation bank will open 20 branches this year and will operate as an arm of Ziraat, Aydın said.
Meanwhile, Ziraat Bankası will launch licensed banking in Montenegro and Azerbaijan in addition to opening a branch in Kosovo this year, he said.

Ziraat’s 2015 plans also include starting up a real estate investment trust.

Along with Vakifbank and Halkbank, Ziraat is one of the three state Lenders which have taken steps to open up interest rate-free participation banks.

The Turkish Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BBDK) approved March 3 the application of Vakıf Katılım Bankası A.Ş. with a lira capital equivalent to $300 million.

Unlike the Ziraat arm, Vakıf Katılım will be opened by the Prime Ministry Directorate General of Foundations.