BANKING - REGULATIONS - Gold under the mattress

www.bne.eu - News that Turkey's banking regulator BDDK has drafted regulations that will allow banks to sell all kinds of gold has been greeted with anger by Turkey's jewellers, who have until now held a near monopoly on the trade, and with surprise by those unfamiliar with the "unorthodox" monetary policy being implemented by the Turkish central bank.

While the draft regulation allowing banks to sell gold is new, it is a natural extension of existing regulations brought in last year that allow banks to buy gold. This sudden move to allow Turkish banks to trade in what many would regard as a luxury item having no relation to the business of banking reflects the twin realities of Turkey's still developing financial services sector and the central bank's ongoing "unorthodox" monetary policy.   (source)

BANKING - 2.5 tons of gold move from ‘under the pillow' to Bank Asya accounts

www.todayszaman.com -Turkey's leading participation bank Bank Asya's General Manager Abdullah Çelik has said that they have taken in 2.5 tons of gold since March as a result of a campaign to transfer what is called the "under-the-pillow" precious metals as functioning assets to the national economy.

Offering customers a chance to open a time deposit gold account in Bank Asya, the "golden account" program was first introduced on March 19.  (source)

BANKING - Kuveyt Turk : Turkey: Driving Demand With Innovation

www.goldinvestingnews.com -Gold is a favored investment in Turkey and innovation may cause its popularity to grow. In 2011, the country’s total gold demand rose about 32 percent to reach 143 tonnes, according to the World Gold Council (WGC). That marked the first time that investment demand accounted for the lion’s share of total consumer demand. With investment products ranging from the basics – such as coins and a gold ETF – to more innovative services like gold deposit accounts and gold ATMs, this demand source has significant potential.  (source)

BANKING - Turkish banks eye their customers' $270b pot of gold

www.gulfnews.com - Istanbul: Turkish banks are seeking to boost the lowest savings rate among major emerging markets and allay a concern of credit rating companies by persuading customers to deposit gold.

Turks have about 5,000 tonnes of gold "stashed under their pillows", Ozcan Halac, the head of the Istanbul Gold Exchange, said in a Bloomberg interview on March 7. That's equivalent to $270 billion (Dh991.7 billion), or more than a third of Turkey's $772 billion economy.

 Akbank TAS, the lender part-owned by Citigroup Inc, said on April 5 it was offering a new gold deposit account to spur savings. (source)

BANKING - Golden Corner: Kuwait Turk kiosk that gold

www.finansglobal.com - Kuwait, Turkey 'reputation, "24 K of a product described as" new service "Golden Corner", was introduced at a press conference held in Sea? Wedding hall.
Turkish gold KoseKuveyt Kuwait Turkish Participation Bank, Turkey, which is the first product of the "Golden Corner" of the launch with Deputy Director General held a press conference attended by Irfan Yilmaz.
Wedding hall meeting organized and Sea, and the operation of the kiosk were told that gold. In addition, the meeting, Kuwait, Turkey 'reputation Gold Banking products and services for 2012 targets announced in the coming period.
Assistant General Manager of Kuwait Turkish Irfan Yilmaz, "450 Billion want to give the size of the economy at least partly a source of inert".  (source)

BANKING - Bank Asya Expects to Double Gold Deposits, Haberturk Reports

www.bloomberg.com - Asya Katilim Bankasi AS (ASYAB), an Istanbul-based Islamic bank, expects its gold deposit accounts to double by the end of this year, Haberturk newspaper reported, citing Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Celik.

The bank, also known as Bank Asya, currently has 1 ton of gold stored in such accounts and plans to pay a profit-share to attract more customers, Celik said, according to Haberturk. Profit share is a mechanism used by Islamic lenders that corresponds to interest payments.  (source)

BANKING -Kuwait Finance House plans to continue its pivotal role in Turkish market, says Chairman

ameinfo.com - Chairman of Kuwait Finance House in Turkey Mohammed Al-Omar announced that the bank plans to continue its pivotal role in the Turkish market, in addition to cementing its strategy that is based on strengthening economic relations with neighboring countries, and with Kuwait and other GCC countries.

He added that the bank also plans to continue offering Islamic products and instruments that can broaden the horizon of Islamic banking in the Turkish economy, such as sukuk, murabaha, and ijarah.

Al-Omar went on to say during a forum held in Turkey that was attended by Turkish Minister of Finance and Minister of Economy, in addition to other economic, business and political figures, that KFH-Turkey has become a source of motivation for many Turkish banks and financial institutions. (source)

BANKING - Al-Omar: 25% increase in profits of KFH-Turkey by end of Q3

Kuwait Finance House in Turkey achieved net profits TL 160.5 million by the end of 3^rd Quarter of 2011 with 25% increase compared to same period last year. The bank managed to sustain a steady growth rate since the beginning of the year, where assets increased to reach TL 13.671 billion with 58.13% compared to same period last year. Capital adequacy rate reached 16.5 by end of September. The increase in assets played a role in strengthening total value of bank's assets by end of Q3, where assets increased to reach KD 13.3 billion with 10.4%increase. (source)

BANKING - Kuwait Turk's new product is introduced in Dubai, the bank allows customers to supply gold 7 days and 24 hours.

ISTANBUL - Turkish Participation Bank of Kuwait, the "Golden Corner" of national and international public organizations introduced the product in Dubai.

According to the Kuwait Turk, Turkey, and gold gained prominence on the world day of each month a new product which the Bank, Golden Corner product offered to customers. A presenter in the meeting held in Dubai GITEX Exhibition in Kuwait Turkish Personal and Business Banking, Marketing and Product Development Group Manager Mustafa Degree, a broad product segments associated with gold, he said. (source)

BANKING - Kuveyt Turk converts ATMs into gold dispensers

Kuveyt Turk, the Turkey-based Islamic lender majority-owned by Kuwait Finance House, is to convert its total ATM network into gold-dispensing machines.

The announcement comes five months after Kuveyt Turk commenced offering gold coins via ATMs, offering gold deposit accounts from which customers are able to withdraw gold coins weighing 1 to 2.5g via the bank’s ATM network, or buy gold using cash or a credit card. It will earn the bank a commission of 1% to 2%. (source)

BANKING - Kuveyt Türk benefits from Turks’ love of gold

After more than a year of work, Kuveyt Türk started offering 

gold from the ATM at its Turkish headquarters on March 22. AA photo

 

Successive Turkish governments have tried in vain to put the tons of gold ‘under the pillows’ of citizens into the financial system, but all have failed. However, participation bank Kuveyt Türk seems to have managed to convince thousands of its customers to so, and its market share in gold banking is surging. Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News, General Manager Ufuk Uyan says the lender basically ‘filled a void’ (full story)

FINANCE - Turkish Gold Trumps Banks as Erdogan Urges Savers to Forget 130% Inflation

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is struggling to persuade fellow Turks that their banks are as good as gold.

For every Turk who saved in a deposit account last year, three opted for gold or cash, a December MasterIndex survey showed. Those who deposit their lira at banks refuse to do so for more than a few months, according to the survey commissioned by MasterCard Worldwide.  (full story)

BANKING - Kuveyt Turk epitomizes optimism of participation banking sector

By MUSHTAK PARKER | ARAB NEWS

Published: Mar 28, 2011 00:07 

Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank (KTPB), a subsidiary of the Kuwait Finance House (KFH), one of the pioneers of global Islamic finance, is a leading Turkish participation (Islamic bank). While Turkish participation banks in general are deemed to be conservative and cautious, KTPB has set the tone by venturing abroad into Germany, Dubai, Bahrain and Kazakhstan and by pioneering new products based on physical gold and exporting them to markets in Malaysia and elsewhere through the global network of KFH. These include gold-backed exchange traded funds (ETFs), gold-backed banking accounts and sukuk. Ufuk Uyan, CEO of Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank, a doyen of Turkish Islamic banking, has been at the forefront of the expansion of KTPB, taking it to the top 10 tier of Turkish banks. Here Ufuk Uyan discusses with Arab News the state of the participation banking sector in Turkey, the performance of KTPB in 2010 and the prospects and challenges for the industry in 2011 and beyond. (full story)

BANKING - Islamic bank takes first step in selling gold from ATMs (Kuveyt Turk)

Kuveyt Türk customers will be able to buy 1-gram and 2.5-gram gold pieces from ATMs. AA photo

Turkish lender Kuveyt Türk has started selling “gold-on-the-go” from automatic teller machines, or ATMs, fulfilling a promise it made in January.

Speaking at a press conference Tuesday, İrfan Yılmaz, the deputy general manager of the lender, noted that Turkey ranks among the top gold importers. (full story)

FINANCE - Murat Cizakca (Inceif-Malaysia) - Islamic Countries Should Continue To Use Paper Currency

KUALA LUMPUR, Monday 17 January 2011 (Bernama) -- Islamic countries should continue to use paper currency instead of gold dinar as history has shown that the return to the coinage system could increase interest rates and inflation would be difficult to control.

Professor of Comparative Economic History at International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF), Dr Murat Cizakca, said money should serve as a medium of exchange, not as a commodity.

"We need to continue with paper currency, and the central banks controlling paper currency should have full autonomy," he said.(source)

FINANCE - Turkish banks to electronically transfer gold

İstanbul Gold Exchange (İAB) Chairman Osman Saraç has said they are working on a project enabling Turkish banks to transfer gold between accounts.(source)

BANKING - Islamic bank offers gold-on-the-go from ATMs

'We want to bring Turkey's existing gold to the bank,' Kuveyt Türk's İrfan Yılmaz says. AA photo