Turkish bank profits rise 18.8% at end-July

By Tuba Ongun

ANKARA (AA) – The net profits of Turkish banks increased 18.8% at an annualized pace in January-July, according to banking watchdog data released on Thursday.

The sector saw a 348.7 billion liras ($10.6 billion) net profit at end-July, up from 293.4 billion liras ($10.9 billion) last year, Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA) data showed.

Total bank assets were at 28.6 trillion liras ($868.7 billion) in the seven months up to July, with loans, the largest sub-category of assets, hitting 14.1 trillion liras ($430 billion).

On the liabilities side, deposits held at lenders in Türkiye – the largest liabilities item – amounted to 16.9 trillion liras ($516 billion).

The sector’s regulatory capital-to-risk-weighted-assets ratio – the higher the better – stood at 17% as of the end of July.

The ratio of non-performing loans to total cash loans – the lower the better – was 1.68%.

As of end-July, a total of 62 state/private/foreign lenders – including deposit banks, participation banks, and development and investment banks – were operating in Türkiye.