Turkey: State-run banks post $762M net profit in H1

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Three Turkish state-run banks posted 4.41 billion Turkish liras ($762 million) in net profit over the first six months of 2019.

The total assets of the three conventional banks Ziraat, Vakif and Halk -- excluding state-run participation banks -- reached nearly 1.25 trillion Turkish liras ($215.5 billion) by the end of June, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency from unconsolidated balance sheets.

Among the three banks, Ziraat saw the highest net profit with 2.8 billion Turkish liras ($484 million). Its assets totaled 537.15 billion Turkish liras ($92.9 billion), as of the end of the year's first half.

Vakif Bank's net profit was 1 billion Turkish liras ($173 million), while Halk Bank saw a net profit of 615.4 million Turkish liras ($106.5 million) during the same period.

While Halk's total assets amounted to 378.4 billion liras ($65.5 billion), Vakif's total assets stood at 331.35 billion Turkish liras ($57.3 billion).

The state-owned banks' regulatory capital to risk-weighted assets ratio -- a significant indicator to determine minimum capital requirements of lenders -- was at 16.1% as of June.

The three banks' domestic and international branches totaled at 3,711 combined, employing more than 60,000 staff by the end of the same period.

Meanwhile, the Turkish banking sector -- including all types of lenders -- posted 24.8 billion Turkish liras ($4.3 billion) in net profits during the six-month period.

The total assets of Turkey's banking sector amounted to 4.2 trillion Turkish liras ($732.5 billion).

As of the end of June, the U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was 5.78.