Turkey on radar of British insurance giant Lloyd's

Lloyd's, one of the largest insurance networks in the world, is gearing up to enter the Turkish market. Lloyd's Chairman John Nelson said Turkey is one of the two primary markets for the company at the moment, adding, "The Indian and Turkish markets top our list of priority." Nelson said the company made this decision based on their trust in the Istanbul Finance Center and the Turkish economy.

After speaking with regulatory authorities and the government in Turkey, Nelson stressed that the company is quite optimistic about the future of Turkey in the medium and long term, despite ongoing geopolitical risks. "Considering penetration ratios in the insurance sector, we see that it has a long way to go. We see that stable growth will continue," he said. Nelson said that Istanbul has the potential to be a superior regional center and an efficient financial center on a global scale, adding that markets must gain an international structure to achieve this. Describing Turkey as an "ideal" place for a finance center, Nelson stated that the Turkish business world and human capital are of high quality. He said Turkey is more vulnerable to risks as it has grown rapidly, leaving gaps in the supply chain, cyber security and infrastructure development.

The conference, which was organized as a part of the U.K.-led project titled "Turkey-U.K. Cooperation in Financial Services" in Istanbul, pointed to the potential for Turkey's regional leadership in financial services. British Ambassador to Turkey Richard Moore said there is cooperation between Turkey and the U.K. in many areas. "We want to maintain our partnership in the finance field as well. Turkish banking and financial sectors have proved their adequacy. We support Istanbul becoming a finance center." Touching on the Ankara terrorist attack, Moore said that the U.K. profoundly understands the issue and sides with the Turkish people against the attackers. "As the U.K., we suffered a lot from terrorism in the past, and today we suffer in different ways. Nevertheless, life and the economy should not come to a standstill."