BANKING - Becoming finance base a hard task for Istanbul - Celik (Bank Asya) predicts growth for participation banking

www.hurriyetdailynews.com - Professionals from Turkey’s biggest lenders, participating in the 1st Uludağ Economy Summit, expressed their support for Turkey’s bid to make Istanbul into a regional finance center, while saying that the task will not be an easy one.

While London tops the list of world finance centers, Istanbul remains at number 62 out of 75, said Faik Açıkalın, general manager of Yapı Kredi Bank, speaking at the summit, held in the northwestern province Bursa. Since the start of the economic crisis in 2008, many foreign investors and financial institutions have left Dubai, Açıkalın added. “This is a chance for Turkey.” However, according to Açıkalın, Turkey’s dream will not be easy to realize, due to Istanbul’s current performance compared to its competitors across the world. “Despite the crisis, the list of Europe’s Top 20 finance centers includes Athens, but Istanbul does not appear on the list. Seoul, Shanghai and Singapore are in the list of possible candidates as global finance centers, but Istanbul is not.”  (source)

BANKING - The project to turn Turkey’s megacity into an international finance center is coming to fruition

www.balkans.com - Zaman - The project to turn Turkey’s megacity into an international finance center is coming to fruition as the planning phase gives way to construction. Within the framework devised by the Turkish government, the Istanbul Financial Center (IFC) project will house the head offices of the country’s governing bodies of financial markets, state-owned banks and related businesses.  (source)