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Turkish banks vary between private and government banks, as they provide many financial services that facilitate payments, money transfer and investment in Turkey.
Banks in Turkey are characterized by a strong financial system, in addition to a wide variety of services, some Turkish banks have branches abroad, in Europe, America and the Arab countries.
An overview of banks in Turkey
There are 54 banks in Turkey, divided into 34 deposit banks, 14 investment banks, and 6 participatory banks. The number of bank branches in Turkey is a total of 11,322 branches nationwide, and about a quarter of a million employees work in Turkish banks.
- Increase in the Central Bank’s Low-Cost Loans:
- The total size of TL (Turkish Lira) and foreign currency loans increased from 265 billion lira at the end of 2022 to 445 billion lira at the end of 2023.
- The amount of TL-denominated loans doubled.
- The Central Bank’s Credit Policies:
- Focused on providing low-cost financing to companies generating foreign currency income.
- Rediscount limits were increased, and costs were capped.
- The daily rediscount limit increased to 3 billion lira, while the interest rate remained fixed at 25.93%.
- Foreign Currency Loans:
- Decreased by 9.15% throughout 2023.
- TL Denominated Rediscount Loans:
- Increased from 7.6 billion lira at the end of 2021 to 287.6 billion lira at the end of 2023.
- Represented an 83.24% increase compared to the end of 2022.
- Other TL Denominated Loans:
- Increased by 197.2% from 29 billion lira at the end of 2022 to 86.2 billion lira at the end of 2023.
- Total Assets of the Central Bank:
- The total size of rediscount and other TL denominated loans reached 373.8 billion lira at the end of 2023.
- Banking Sector Loans:
- Total loans grew by 24.54% at the end of 2023.
- Total loan growth in public banks was 12.66%, while it was 37% in private banks.
- Total commercial loans grew by 15.71%.
List of Banks in Turkey
Here is the names of the most important banks in Turkey:
- Ziraat Bank
- İş Bank
- Halk Bank
- Vakif Bank
- Garanti BBVA
- Yapi Kredi Bank
- Kuveyt Turk Bank
- Al Baraka Bank
- Turkish Post Bank
- Ak Bank
- Turkiye Finans Bank
- QNB Finans Bank
- Şekerbank
- Deniz Bank
- ING Bank
- HSBC Bank
- Odea Bank
- Anadolubank
Services Provided by Turkish Banks
Banks in Turkey provide many important and distinctive services, most notably:
- Mortgage
- Credit loans
- Pay bills online
- Conducting Swift Code transfers outside Turkey
- Investing in mutual funds
- Transferring funds within Turkey to other banks
- Transfer money outside Turkey via Swift Code
- Issuance of credit cards
- Foreign currency exchange
- Western Union transfers inside and outside Turkey
- Issuance of prepaid cards and debit cards.
- Investing in the stock exchange
- Insurance products
- Investing in gold
- Invest in silver
- Safe deposit boxes
- Investing in Turkish banks
- Pay taxes and fees
Turkish Islamic Banks
Kuveyt Turk Bank, and Al Baraka Turk, in addition to Ziraat Participation Bank, are considered one of the most important Islamic banks in Turkey. Which offers one of the highest rates of bank profits in Turkey
Islamic banks in Turkey offer savings accounts with a participatory Murabaha system, without any interest, in accordance with the provisions of Islamic Sharia.
Turkish Islamic banks also provide all the services that government and private banks provide, including money transfer, investment in the stock exchange, gold and silver investing.
Advantages of Turkish Banks
Turkish banks are very easy to deal with, as most banks in Turkey provide applications on mobile phones to conduct all banking transactions.
In addition, the process of opening a bank account in Turkey is very easy, as it requires a residence card and proof of residency in some cases.
Turkish banks also issue credit cards to foreigners after providing a financial guarantee in the form of a salary from a Turkish company or a deposit.
It is possible to buy precious metals in Turkish banks and invest in them, the most famous of which are gold, silver, and platinum, in addition to buying all foreign currencies, including US dollars, Canadian dollars, euros, pound, Saudi riyals, Kuwaiti dinars and most international currencies.
Savings accounts can also be created in banks in Turkey in Turkish lira, dollar, euro or gold.
