Bank Audi expands in Turkey

Assets are up to $10 billion after just two years of operations

Bank Audi is planning to open seven to ten branches in Turkey this year, up from its current 50 branches there. It will carry out its expansion through Odeabank, its fully-owned Turkish subsidiary.

“These branches are part of an expansion plan to open between 80 and 90 branches in the Turkish market,” said Freddie Baz, General Manager, Group Chief Financial Officer and Strategy Director at Bank Audi. “This total number of branches is enough, in our opinion, to cover all sectors in that country, including retail, corporate, and commercial banking, in addition to Small to Medium and Enterprises (SMEs), although it is considered small compared to other banks operating there, which have a minimum of 200 to 300 branches,” he said.

Bank Audi’s strategy through Odeabank is to service the growing middle corporate segment, offering a potential for financial services, increasing focus on value-added SMEs and the consumer lending segment. In this manner, the bank hopes to leverage its footprint in the Middle East and North Africa to capture cross-border financing opportunities and build a franchise ranking second to Lebanon in term of size and earnings.

“Turkey is a sizeable emerging economy with lots of growth opportunities,” said Baz. “We are focusing on all segments, including corporate and commercial banking, as well as the middle to upper segment of retail banking,” he said.

Baz said that “Odeabank had major achievements after just two years of operations.” Odeabank’s total assets reached $10 billion, at the end of the first quarter. Deposits amounted to $8 billion, while loans rose to $6.8 billion. The bank made its debut with six branches, a client base of 1,500 customers, $1.4 billion in deposits, and $2 billion in assets so far.

Bank Audi received its license from Turkish regulatory authorities in September 2012 and started operations through Odeabank in November of the same year.