Turkish regulator approves license for Bank of China to operate in Turkey

ANKARA

Turkey’s banking watchdog has approved the license for Bank of China (BOC) Turkey, allowing the bank to start operations immediately, the watchdog chief announced on Dec. 1.

“We approved the banking license for Bank of China Turkey. We had previously granted permission for the bank to operate a deposit bank in Turkey. Now, the bank has received the required license. Bank of China Turkey can officially start banking operations tomorrow,” Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) President Mehmet Ali Akben told Anadolu Agency.

BOC received permission to operate the deposit bank in Turkey with an investment of $300 million, the BDDK said in January.

The bank, the world’s seventh largest and the third largest in China, has been interested in Turkey for a long time. BOC launched preparations to establish a commercial bank in the country in 2015 after establishing a representative office in 2011.

BOC will become the second Chinese lender to operate in Turkey after the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), which purchased a majority stake in Tekstilbank last year.