Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 9 /Trend, A.Akhundov/
Turkish government is resolute to turn Istanbul into a regional and international financial hub as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated plans to move headquarters of state-owned banks and several other financial institutions from capital Ankara to Istanbul, country's largest city with around 15 million population, Anadolu news agency reported. In his speech at a conference organized by the Istanbul Stock Exchange on Thursday, Erdogan said that headquarters would be carried to Istanbul in the next 2 or 3 years.
"We cannot delay these plans any more. We will start in 2011. I hope all headquarters will be finished in the next 2 or 3 years," Erdogan said.
State-owned banks and other governmental institutions to move to Istanbul include Ziraat Bank, Vakifbank, Halkbank, Capital Markets Board of Turkey (SPK) and Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK).