Turkish group Garanti sees higher profits in Romania in the first nine months of 2015

Garanti Romania, the local subsidiary of Turkish financial group Garanti, ended the first nine months of the year with a net profit of RON 98.5 million (EUR 22.2 million), up by 8% compared to the same period the previous year. Its net revenues amounted to RON 429 million (EUR 96.8 million), while the group’s total assets increased by 10%, reaching RON 9.5 billion (EUR 2.1 billion). Garanti Bank registered a net profit of RON 70 million (EUR 15.8 million) in the first three quarters of this year, and net revenues of RON 347.9 million (EUR 78.5 million). Meanwhile, its overall loans volume reached a total of RON 6.3 billion (EUR 1.4 billion) at end-September, which represents a 23% increase year-on-year. Compared to the first nine months of 2014, SME lending grew by 6.6%, corporate lending by 19.6% and retail lending by 37%, according to a statement of Garanti. The group's non-banking financial institutions also recorded profit in the first nine months. Garanti Consumer Finance reported a net profit of RON 20.7 million (EUR 4.6 million) while Garanti Leasing’s profit reached RON 7.8 million (EUR 1.7 million). “2015 has been a dynamic year for us. Lending has grown progressively from quarter to quarter and we expect to show sustainable growth until the end of the year,” said Ufuk Tandogan, CEO Garanti Group Romania. Garanti Group is held by Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS (TGB), the largest private bank in Turkey in terms of market capitalization. Interview – Garanti Bank Romania CEO: We grow organically, but won’t say no to the right acquisition opportunity. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com