Participation banks have encountered serious difficulties a number of times in the past but have managed to post strong growth and achieve close to a 10 percent share in the overall loan volume of the Turkish banking system, Türkiye Finans Chairman Mustafa Boydak said on Friday. 
“It is a really great success story,” said Boydak, who is also the president of the Kayseri Chamber of Industry. “Participation banks went through tremendous hardships several times, including when some saw them as nearly bankrupt. But when we look at the current situation, we see that these institutions extend nearly 10 percent of total loans provided by the banking system in Turkey. This is very important. Türkiye Finans is proud to be part of this sector,” he said.
Apart from Türkiye Finans, Kuveyt Türk, Bank Asya and Albaraka Türk also operate as participation banks. They work as conventional banks except that they strive to abide by Islamic rules on transactions, forbidding interest as well as investment in businesses that provide goods or services contrary to Islamic principles.
Boydak was speaking yesterday at a meeting organized for the promotion of the bank’s recently published book, “Vakıf Medeniyeti ve Para Vakıfları” (Waqf Civilization and Monetary Waqfs).
 Yusuf Nacar, the general manager of Türkiye Finans, also spoke at the event and said that the bank has been taking firm steps forward since it was founded. The bank has over 1 million customers and more than 3,350 employees, he said, adding that it continues to grow every day.
Source : Todays Zaman, August 21, 2010 - http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-219633-boydak-turkeys-participation-banking-a-success-story.html
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