Akbank
Akbank has again won the award after bouncing back strongly during 2002, a difficult year, and continuing to improve its product offering.
After posting a loss for 2001, the bank finished 2002 with profit of $411m. Its ROE rose to an impressive 24% for the year, while its cost-to-income ratio remained very low at 33%.
Akbank’s impressive rebound is attributed to making wise business decisions. Reckoning that demand for mutual funds in Turkey would increase amid falling interest rates, it launched a huge marketing offensive for its funds. The results speak for themselves: its share of the local mutual funds market rose to 11% from 5.4%.
Regarding lending, the bank cleverly focussed on consumer credit, allowing it to capture an 11.2% share of the local market. Partnerships with the strongest automotive brands also enabled it to acquire a 16.6% share of all car loans.
“Akbank remains the only private blue-chip bank with $1.48bn in free capital. Its competitive edge comes from the fact that it can grow its assets significantly without the need to inject capital,” said chief executive Zafer Kurtul, Akbank.
Turkmenistan
State Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs
The State Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs has won the award again this year after outperforming its rivals in Turkmenistan and expanding its services in 2002.
The bank has become crucial to the developing Turkmenistani economy, as it services 90% of foreign investment in the country and plays a key role in attracting such investment.
The bank expanded its services last year to include Visa cards, an electronic payment system and a trading platform for foreign currencies and securities.
