Banks in Turkey
The banking sector forms a great part of the Turkish financial system in its dynamic economy. Most of the transactions and activities of money and capital markets are carried out by banks. Most State banks were established to finance a particular industry such as agriculture for example (Ziraat Bank), but private banks generally have close connections to large industrial groups and holdings.
First banking activities started in early 1800s with the so-called money-changers and the Galata bankers. During this period, all quasi-banking activities were carried out by money-changers, and The Galata bankers consisted mostly of the ethnic-minorities in Istanbul. With the deterioration of the Ottoman Empires' financial situation after the Crimean war, the Empire needed external financial support. It was during this period when representatives of several foreign banks came to Istanbul with the purpose of extending credits to the Empire at high interest rates. The Ottoman Bank (Osmanli Bankasi) was established in 1856 with its head office in London and served as the Central Bank until the 1930s.
The Central Bank, founded in the early 1930s, has the usual central bank responsibilities, such as issuing banknotes, protecting the currency, and regulating the banking system and credit. The Central Bank also finances the government's budget deficits and makes loans to public and private banks. But after 1983 the Central Bank began to reduce lending and stepped up its supervisory functions.
Before 1980 there were only 4 foreign banks in Turkey, but their number grew rapidly during the 1980s as the Turgut Ozal government liberalized conditions and today there are almost 50 of them. During these years a series of reforms were adopted to promote financial market development; interest and foreign exchange rates were liberalized, new entrants to the banking system were permitted and foreign banks were encouraged to operate in Turkey.
All banks in Turkey are subject to the Banks Act and to the provisions of other laws regarding to banks. The new Law brought the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA, or Turkish BDDK) into life to safeguard the rights and benefits of depositors. The Banks Association of Turkey (BAT, or Turkish TBB) is the representative body of the banking sector in Turkey established for protecting and promoting the professional interests of its members.
As of January 2008, there are a total of 46 banks operating with 7480 branches in Turkey and 50 branches abroad.
| Name | Phone | Fax | Web Address | |
| All Banks (#46) | ||||
| Commercial Banks (#33) | ||||
| Banks Under the Deposit Insurance Fund (#1) | ||||
| Birlesik Fon Bankasi A.S. | 212-340 10 00 | 212-288 31 61 | www.fonbank.com.tr | |
| Foreign Banks (#17) | ||||
| Foreign Banks Founded in Turkey (#10) | ||||
| Arap Turk Bankasi A.S. | 212-225 05 00 | 212-225 05 26 | www.arabturkbank.com | |
| Citibank A.S. | 216-524 50 00 | 216-524 50 50 | www.citibank.com.tr | |
| Denizbank A.S. | 212-355 08 00 | 212-274 79 93 | www.denizbank.com | |
| Deutsche Bank A.S. | 212-317 01 00 | 212-317 01 05 | www.db.com | |
| Finans Bank A.S. | 212-318 50 00 | 212-318 55 78 | www.finansbank.com.tr | |
| Fortis Bank A.S. | 212-274 42 80 | 212-272 52 78 | www.fortis.com.tr | |
| HSBC Bank A.S. | 212-366 30 00 | 212-366 33 83 | www.hsbc.com.tr | |
| Millenium Bank A.S. | 212-315 35 35 | 212-233 19 68 | www.milleniumbank.com.tr | |
| Eurobank Tekfen A.S. | 212-357 07 07 | 212-357 08 08 | www.eurobanktekfen.com | |
| Turkland Bank A.S. | 212-368 34 34 | 212-368 35 35 | www.tbank.com.tr | |
| Foreign Banks Having Branches in Turkey (#7) | ||||
| ABN AMRO Bank N.V. | 212-359 40 40 | 212-359 50 50 | www.abnamro.com.com.tr | |
| Banca di Roma S.P.A. | 212-285 93 10 | 212-276 94 25 | www.bancaroma.it | |
| Bank Mellat | 212-296 31 20 | 212-296 45 85 | www.mellatbank.com | |
| Habib Bank Limited | 212-246 02 20 | 212-234 08 07 | www.habibbank.com.tr | |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. | 212-326 83 00 | 212-326 83 84 | www.jpmorganchase.com | |
| Societe Generale (SA) | 212-319 34 00 | 212-282 18 44 | www.sgcib.com | |
| WestLB AG | 212-339 25 00 | 212-352 22 58 | www.westlb.com.tr | |
| Privately-owned Commercial Banks (#12) | ||||
| Adabank A.S. | 212-272 64 20 | 212-272 64 46 | www.adabank.com.tr | |
| Akbank T.A.S. | 212-270 00 44 | 212-269 77 87 | www.akbank.com.tr | |
| Alternatif Bank A.S. | 212-315 65 00 | 212-233 15 00 | www.abank.com.tr | |
| Anadolubank A.S. | 212-368 70 00 | 212-296 57 15 | www.anadolubank.com.tr | |
| Oyak Bank A.S. | 212-335 10 00 | 212-286 61 00 | www.oyakbank.com.tr | |
| Sekerbank T.A.S. | 212-319 70 00 | 212-245 68 37 | www.sekerbank.com.tr | |
| Tekstil Bankasi A.S. | 212-335 53 35 | 212-328 13 28 | www.tekstilbank.com.tr | |
| Turkish Bank A.S. | 212-225 03 30 | 212-225 03 53 | www.turkishbank.com | |
| Turk Ekonomi Bankasi A.S. | 212-251 21 21 | 212-249 65 68 | www.teb.com.tr | |
| Turkiye Garanti Bankasi A.S. | 212-318 18 18 | 212-318 18 88 | www.garanti.com.tr | |
| Turkiye Is Bankasi A.S. | 212-316 00 00 | 212-316 09 00 | www.isbank.com.tr | |
| Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi A.S. | 212-339 70 00 | 212-339 60 00 | www.ykb.com.tr | |
| State-owned Commercial Banks (#3) | ||||
| Turkiye Cumhuriyeti Ziraat Bankasi A.S. | 312-310 37 47 | 312-310 11 34 | www.ziraatbank.com.tr | |
| Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. | 312-289 20 00 | 312-229 58 57 | www.halkbank.com.tr | |
| Turkiye Vakiflar Bankasi T.A.O. | 312-455 75 75 | 312-455 76 90 | www.vakifbank.com.tr | |
| Non-depository Banks (#13) | ||||
| Foreign Non-depository Banks (#4) | ||||
| BankPozitif Kredi ve Kalkinma Bankasi A.S. | 212-290 32 32 | 212-290 32 12 | www.bankpozitif.com.tr | |
| Calyon Yatirim Bank Turk A.S. | 212-339 37 00 | 212-282 63 01 | www.calyon.com.tr | |
| Merrill Lynch Yatirim Bank A.S. | 212-319 95 00 | 212-319 95 01 | www.ml.com.tr | |
| Taib Yatirim Bank A.S. | 212-347 54 54 | 212-347 01 11 | www.yatirimbank.com.tr | |
| Privately-owned Non-depository Banks (#6) | ||||
| Calik Yatirim Bankasi A.S. | 212-339 14 14 | 212-339 14 44 | www.calikbank.com.tr | |
| Diler Yatirim Bankasi A.S. | 212-253 66 30 | 212-253 94 54 | www.dilerbank.com.tr | |
| GSD Yatirim Bankasi A.S. | 216-489 97 50 | 216-489 97 81 | www.gsdbank.com.tr | |
| IMKB Takas ve Saklama Bankasi A.S. | 212-315 25 25 | 212-315 25 26 | www.takasbank.com.tr | |
| Nurol Yatirim Bankasi A.S. | 212-286 81 00 | 212-286 80 01 | www.nurolbank.com.tr | |
| Turkiye Sinai Kalkinma Bankasi A.S. | 212-334 50 50 | 212-243 29 75 | www.tskb.com.tr | |
| State-owned Non-depository Banks (#3) | ||||
| Iller Bankasi | 312-310 31 41 | 312-310 74 59 | www.ilbank.gov.tr | |
| Turk Eximbank | 312-417 13 00 | 312-425 78 96 | www.eximbank.gov.tr | |
| Turkiye Kalkinma Bankasi A.S. | 312-417 92 00 | 312-418 39 67 | www.tkb.com.tr | |
Source: Banks Association of Turkey (TBB)