Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

Spanish bank BBVA is adopting a cautious approach to Turkey and might have to set aside more money as a result of the worsening economic situation in its fifth-largest market.

Spain's BBVA is the international lender most exposed to Turkey, deriving a third of its pre-tax profits from a country where the currency is losing against the U.S. dollar and euro, and inflation is in double-digits, ABN AMRO analysts have said.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has invested $75 million in a bond issued by Turkish private lender Garanti Bank to boost loans for women entrepreneurs' href='/search/women entrepreneurs'>women entrepreneurs in Turkey, it announced on June 13.

Defense giant Aselsan, 85 percent of which is owned by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation, became the most valuable company listed on the Istanbul main stock exchange (BIST) on Nov. 14, surpassing Garanti Bank and Koç Holding early.

Garanti Bank, one of Turkey's biggest private lenders, announced on Sept. 19 that its board chairman Ferit Şahenk had resigned.

Şahenk has been replaced by deputy chairman Suleyman Sözen, the bank said in a statement to the Istanbul stock exchange. Jorge Saenz-Azcunaga Carranza has been appointed as the new deputy chair. 

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has said it invested the Turkish Lira equivalent of 75 million euros in a covered bond issued by Turkish lender Garanti Bank, in a bid to encourage a new source of funding for Turkish banks. 

Turkey's benchmark index advanced by 0.25 percent to stand at 100,440.39 points at the close of June 30, marking a 0.80-percent rise compared with last week.      

Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index posted its highest "week close" with a 250.08-point increase, while the total trading volume was 4.1 billion Turkish Liras (approximately $1.16 billion).      

The IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has said it is investing $150 million equivalent of Turkish Liras in covered bonds issued by Turkey's Garanti Bank, in a bid to help boost the development of green buildings in the country's housing sector.

Spanish lender Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) has acquired 41.79 million shares in Garanti Bank from Doğuş Holding and Doguş Araştırma Geliştirme ve Müşavirlik Hizmetleri at a cost of 7.95 Turkish Liras per share.

Spain's BBVA, which has a majority stake in Turkey's Garanti Bank, is looking to buy another bank in the country, BBVA chief Carlos Torres Vila has said. 

BBVA is not actively in talks as there are no banks for sale, but Turkey is a strategic market, he said. "We want to grow in Turkey. We want to acquire another lender that will bring value to Garanti."