Turkey’s Ziraat to found participation bank in the first quarter 2015

Speaking at the Bankers' Summit attended by general managers of Turkish banks, Turkey's state-run Ziraat Bank's General Manager Hüseyin Aydın announced on Wednesday that a participation bank named "Ziraat Katılım" will start operating as of the first quarter of 2015.

Pointing out to the development of interest-free participation banks – operating within the scope of Islamic finance principles – in the last 50 years and 20 percent global annual growth in the sector, Aydın stated that Ziraat Bank also wanted to position itself in this profitable market and reminded that they made the official application to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency.

Aydın said that the current share of participation banking in the overall banking sector is 5 percent and it is expected that this share will reach up to 20 percent in the future.

Commenting over the global financial crisis, Aydın stated that global crises need global solutions, with related political institutions acting quickly and effectively.