Turkey's state-run lenders see $1.31B net profit in 1H

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Three conventional state-run banks in Turkey -- Ziraat, VakifBank and Halkbank -- posted a combined net profit of 9.5 billion Turkish liras ($1.31 billion) in the first six months of this year.

The total assets of state-run banks -- excluding state-run participation banks -- reached 1.93 trillion Turkish liras ($266.9 billion) by the end of June, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency from unconsolidated balance sheets.

The three banks' deposits totaled 1.32 trillion Turkish liras ($182 billion) as of the end of the first half, while loans provided by the banks amounted to 1.29 billion Turkish liras ($178 million).

Among the three banks, Ziraat saw the highest net profit with 4.5 billion Turkish liras ($622 million) during the six-month period. Its assets totaled 796.6 billion Turkish liras ($110.2 billion) as of the end of June.

VakifBank's net profit was 3.24 billion Turkish liras ($448 million), while Halkbank saw a net profit of 1.77 billion Turkish liras ($245 million) during the same period.

While VakifBank’s total assets amounted to 538.7 billion liras ($74.5 billion), Halkbank’s total assets stood at 595.7 billion ($82.4 billion).

In the first half, the peak period of the novel coronavirus pandemic, state-run lenders eased loan conditions to support citizens against the outbreak's economic effects on the economy.

The banks' regulatory capital to risk-weighted assets ratio -- a significant indicator in determining lenders' minimum capital requirements -- was at 17.59% as of June.

The three banks' domestic and international branches totaled 3,706 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 30.87 billion Turkish liras ($4.5 billion) in net profits during the first half, according to data from the country's banking watchdog.

The total assets of Turkey's banking sector amounted to 5.35 trillion Turkish liras ($748.2 billion).

The US dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was 7.23 as of the end of June.