Baku, Azerbaijan, April 21
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Turkish Ziraat Bank will continue its activities in Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, Sabah newspaper quoted the bank's CEO Huseyin Aydin as saying on April 21.
Aydin said there are no obstacles for the bank to continue its activities in these countries, although participation in the subsidiary bank in Azerbaijan is less active.
Turkish Ziraat Bank owns a 50 percent stake of AzerTurkBank in Azerbaijan.
Ziraat Bank, the state agricultural bank of Turkey, was founded in 1888.
The bank is the second largest financial institution in Turkey, preceded by Is Bankasi. It has 1,280 branches and employs over 22,800 people.
Ziraat Bank's profit grew in 2013 by 37 percent versus the same figures for the year before last, and stood at two billion Turkish liras.
The bank's assets in late 2013 stood at 195.8 billion Turkish liras.
The bank's assets in 2012 totalled 161.1 billion Turkish liras.
Ziraat Bank's loan portfolio totalled 115 billion Turkish liras in the first quarter of 2014. The bank also intends to open 150 branches in Turkey.
The official exchange rate on April 21 is 2.1284 TRY/USD.
Translated by E.A.
Edited by C.N.