Turkish bank profits surge 23% in January-May

By Tuba Ongun

ANKARA (AA) – The net profits of Turkish banks surged 23% from a year earlier this January-May, according to Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA) data released on Thursday.

The sector saw a net profit of 233.7 billion Turkish liras ($7.3 billion) in the first five months of 2024, up from 190.3 billion liras ($9.2 billion) in the prior year, the banking watchdog data showed.

Total bank assets reached 27 trillion liras ($845.3 billion) at end-May, with loans, the largest sub-category of assets, hitting 13.5 trillion liras ($423.7 billion).

On the liabilities side, deposits held at lenders in Türkiye – the largest liabilities item – amounted to 15.9 trillion liras ($499.4 billion).

The sector’s regulatory capital-to-risk-weighted-assets ratio – the higher the better – stood at 16.96% as of the end of May.

The ratio of non-performing loans to total cash loans – the lower the better – was 1.52%.

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