Odeabank continues its stable and profitable growth… ​

Odeabank has increased its net profit by 196% in the second quarter of the year, far above the sector average, continuing its stable and profitable growth.

Odeabank, a subsidiary of Lebanon based Bank Audi, increased its net profit by 196%, to 60.3 million TL in the second quarter of 2016 compared to the same period last year. In the second quarter of this year Odeabank's net assets reached 31 billion TL, while its deposits increased to 24.3 billion TL and its total credits to 21.9 billion TL.

Odeabank Board Member and General Manager Hüseyin Özkaya, said in his written statement on the subject: “In spite of being a very young bank established from the ground up, with high investment costs and operating in an environment with economic uncertainties, we continue to grow profitably. Our financial achievements in the second quarter of the year are a result of our customers' confidence in us.”

'IN THE NEXT PERIOD WE MIGHT SEE FURTHER IMPROVEMENT IN GROWTH AND PROFITABILTY IN THE BANKING SECTOR'

Özkaya reviewed the second quarter performance of the Turkish banking sector, pointing out that the growth trend in the banking sector is mildly slowing down. “According to the monthly BRSA data, the annual growth in credits which was 14.2% at the end of March has dropped to 12.3% at the end of June. In the same period, the growth rate of deposits has decreased from 14.2% to 12.3%. Thus the Loan-To-Deposit ratio has increased from 118.6% to 119.7%. In this period, the ratio of debts in collections to total credits had a mild increase from 3.28% to 3.30%. We can say that the profitability of the sector presents a better outlook in the second quarter. According to the monthly data of BRSA, the net profit of the banking sector in the first 6 months has increased by 39.6% compared to the same period last year, reaching 19.0 billion TL.” He added: “We think that in the coming days, as the recovery in the financial markets begin to be reflected in real economy, there will be further improvement in the growth and profitability performance of the banking sector. We think that since mid-2013, not being able to achieve a lasting improvement in terms of investor perception constitutes the main problem in the Turkish economy and we observe that as a result of this, the high risk premiums do not allow the positive developments in global market prices to be reflected in domestic inflation and consequently, in the interest rates. In this context, if structural reforms are put into place with regard to rewriting the narrative in Turkey, we think that capital flow towards our country will be revived permanently and the prices of our financial assets will match the levels of our economic foundations.”

'WE ARE PROUD OF OUR ACHIEVEMENTS'

Mentioning Odeabank's international achievements Özkaya stated “As a young and innovative player in the banking sector, we have made numerous local and international achievements, received many rewards in the second quarter of 2016 as we have done in the past years, thanks to our personalized banking services, technological investments and excellent human resources reaching 1577 employees. Among these, as an appreciation of our financial success, receiving capital investment from two renowned and prestigious institutions like IFC and EBRD as well as other investors, as a result of their confidence in Odeabank, is very important and encouraging for us. With this capital investment, we will find the opportunity to increase our credit support for infrastructural projects and investments which will contribute to the development of Turkish economy. This equity capital investment will also allow us to support the SMEs that constitute 70% of employment but receive only 30% of total credits in Turkey.”

'SME'S WILL BE AN IMPORTANT SEGMENT FOR US'

Özkaya, stating that they will continue to operate in all banking segments, added: “As the youngest bank among the top 10 of private banks in the highly competitive Turkish banking sector, we will continue to provide the highest quality of service to our corporate, commercial, SME and retail customers by investing in our branch network, digital banking channels and technology.”

Mentioning their restructuring for the SMEs that support Turkey's sustainable growth Özkaya said, “In this conjuncture, as Odeabank we continue to improve our service quality, expand our customer-focused service approach, each passing day. As Odeabank, we have made organizational changes with the purpose of providing a more extensive service to SMEs, which we determined as our primary segment, in line with our “Personalized Banking” approach, and established our SME Banking line of business in the second quarter of 2016. Our vision in SME Banking is to make Odeabank the primary bank for SME customers with its fast and specialized solutions, technology and customer experience. We will continue to proactively structure our activities and take actions to double our market share in credits in this area in the second half of 2016.”

Özkaya repeated their mission to be in the giants league, saying “As Odeabank, while we focus on improving our service quality each passing day, we aim to continue expanding our customer-focused banking approach to greater masses. Implementing our targets without sacrificing our principles will bring additional achievements in our key performance indicators that will form the foundations for corporate success coming from personal success. As we always say, our goal is “to be in the giants league” and provide more resources to the economy. I offer my gratitude to all our shareholders who support us in reaching our goal.”