With net fees and commissions up 49% due to strong expansion in consumer loans and credit cards, the bank increased RoE to 23.7% in 2005 from 17.1% the previous year.
Targeting higher yielding segments, Akbank achieved 71% loan growth in 2005 with SME and consumer loans growing by 116% and 119% respectively. This has allowed Akbank to become the leading lender in these two sectors, which now account for an expanding 66% of the total loan portfolio.
With its Basel II capital adequacy ratio high at 21.6% at the end of 2005, Akbank plans to use its strong ratio as a competitive edge, ensuring high credit and asset quality and a strong collateral structure. And in October, in a critical development, Citigroup acquired a 20% stake in Akbank for $3.1bn.
President and CEO Zafer Kurtul, says: “Akbank has been awarded with the Bank of the Year award five times since 2001. In the past five years, Akbank consolidated its leading position in the Turkish banking sector. Mainly owing to strong growth in SME and consumer lending, Akbank ranked, at the end of 2005, as Turkey’s most profitable and largest bank in terms of loan portfolio.
“Akbank is focused on providing its customers with a superior service, through innovation, investment in the latest IT infrastructure and via its customer-oriented staff. The primary goal of Akbank’s management has been to create and implement strategies that will maximise shareholder value.”
