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Vakıf Katılım Aims to Increase Assets to 506 Billion TL in 2024

Vakıf Katılım held a meeting at Çırağan Palace, hosted by General Manager Mehmet Ali Akben, discussing the financial results of 2023 and the 2024 goals alongside the participation banking sector.

Akben highlighted the continuous growth of the market share in Turkey’s participation finance sector and its geographical expansion. He emphasized the sector’s ongoing support for the Turkey Economic Model by focusing on value-added production and economic dynamism.

Referring to the December 2023 data from the Participation Banks Association of Turkey, Akben noted that nine participation banks, with a total of 1455 branches and approximately 20 thousand employees, provided services. He stated, “While the total cash financing volume in the banking sector grew by 54.7% as of December 2023, this rate reached 63.7% in participation banks. Similarly, regarding the total funds collected, as of December, the banking sector grew by 69%, while participation banks recorded a growth of 71.5% compared to the beginning of the year.”

Akben pointed out that, as of December 2023, Vakıf Katılım held a 17.51% market share in cash financing and a 20.29% market share in equity in the participation banking sector. He said, “We increased our total asset size by 67.62% compared to the previous year, reaching 315.3 billion TL. During this period, we also raised the total fund volume by 83.41% to 254.2 billion TL. In the past year, with our strong funding sources and equity, we provided 260.4 billion TL in total, both cash and non-cash support, increasing our support to the real sector.”

He highlighted Vakıf Katılım’s successful performance, with a non-performing loan ratio below 1%, which is below the industry average.

Akben mentioned that they directed all resources towards the development and growth of the real sector. He stated, “The share of SME loans in the credits we provided reached 42.7% by the end of 2023. We increased our cash and non-cash support, reaching 100 billion TL in 2023, an increase of 72.1% compared to the previous year.”

Regarding the growth in credit volume in participation banks compared to conventional banks, Akben commented, “Participation banks are growing slightly more than conventional banks. The reason for the slow growth in funds collected is that they cannot quickly adjust to interest rate increases or decreases.”

Akben highlighted that Vakıf Katılım achieved growth above inflation and provided approximately 5.2 billion TL in financing support for renewable and sustainable financing, particularly supporting women entrepreneurs and businesses with female-majority ownership.

Emphasizing the importance of a digital-focused business culture, Akben stated, “We attach great importance to our customers meeting their needs not only through our branches but also through our digital channels.” He noted that they were the first financial institution to initiate the remote customer acquisition process for legal entities and that the number of customers gained from digital channels increased fivefold in 2023 compared to the previous year.

Akben discussed the demand for TROY-logo cards, noting increased interest following Israel’s attacks on Gaza. He said, “Alongside debit cards, there are nearly 350 million cards in the country. The TROY card was a matter of sensitivity during my term as the President of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK). There are more than 100% increases in Turkey. Demand is also increasing for us, and it will shape according to demand.”

Regarding credit cards, Akben emphasized the need to associate interest rates with income. He stated, “In our term, we introduced installment restrictions on imported products with high amounts. The goal was to encourage the preference for domestic products instead of imports.”

He also noted that they are targeting an asset size of 506 billion TL, total cash and non-cash financing of 400 billion TL, and total funds collected of around 392 billion TL for the year 2024. In addition, they aim to provide a total of 177 billion TL in support for SMEs in 2024.

Akben concluded by expressing his belief in achieving successful results in all targeted areas and contributing significantly to the development of both the industry and the country’s economy. He highlighted the importance Vakıf Katılım places on the cultural as well as economic development of society. The General Manager mentioned the Vakıf Works Inventory Project, a special project initiated to document and preserve cultural assets, and its efforts to continue this project in Konya after starting in Hatay. He emphasized the importance of these efforts in guiding institutions in the restoration of historical sites.

source: aa.com.tr / prepared by Melisa Beğiç

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