Kuveyt Turk's net profits rise 24 pct

ANKARA (AA) - Istanbul-based participation bank Kuveyt Turk said Tuesday its net profits rose by 24.4 percent in the first half of 2016 compared to the same period last year.

Kuveyt Turk’s net profits rose to 256 million Turkish liras ($85 million), the bank said in a statement.

Its total assets reached 44.1 billion liras ($15 billion), up 4.9 percent since the end of 2015. Meanwhile, shareholder equity reached 3.7 billion liras ($1.24 billion), an increase of 8 percent.

"Adding 30 new branch offices of our network [in Turkey] throughout 2016 made us the most widespread bank,” Ufuk Uyan, the CEO of the bank, said in the statement. “We are aiming at becoming one of the top three banks opening the highest number of branch offices in the banking sector.”

Kuveyt Turk ranked first among participation banks in Turkey in 2015, said the statement.

“Our bank is always giving a back to the real sector players by supporting individual and corporate investors with its direct financing support or joint ventures in line with its interest-free banking principle," said Uyan.

The bank, which is a subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House, has 5,363 employees in 376 branches.