Finansbank

Finansbank is a Turkish bank with headquarters in Istanbul. It was established by leading Turkish banker Hüsnü Özyeğin in 1987 and has been owned by the National Bank of Greece since 2006.

As of December 2010, total assets of Finansbank increased to 38.1 billion TRY or 30%. Total loans increased by 35%, compared to 2009 and were worth TRY 25.8 billion; customer deposits increased by 25% and were worth TL 23.6 billion. Net interest income reached TL 2,254 million. Net fees and commissions increased by 7%, reaching TL 594 million.

By 2010, the bank had over 12,000 staff and 502 branches.

History

The new Finansbank headquarters, originally Soyak Crystal Tower,^[2] as seen from Istanbul Sapphire in the Levent business district of Istanbul.

Finansbank was established by leading Turkish banker Hüsnü Özyeğin on October 26, 1987. In 2000 the bank established a number of specialist subsidiaries, which included Finans Portfolio Management and Finans Real-Estate Investment Trust. It also launched a telephone banking system and set up an operations Center in Ümraniye, Istanbul.

In 2001 Finansbank sold its shares in Commercial Union Sigorta and Commercial Union Hayat Sigorta to CGU International Insurance and instead established a separate insurance subsidiary Finans Sigorta A.Ş. (Finans Insurance). In 2002 it installed a new core banking system giving it the best technology of the Turkish banks.

By the end of 2005, Finansbank had operations in ten countries including Turkey, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium, Russia, Romania, Ireland and Bahrain. This earned it the title of the Turkish bank having the most extensive network in foreign countries.

A view of Levent business district in Istanbul, with the new Finansbank headquarters (originally built with the name Soyak Crystal Tower)^[2] at right.

In August 2006, the bank sold 46% of its shares to the National Bank of Greece (NBG), the largest bank of Greece. As part of the sale agreement all the international branches and subsidiaries were split from Finansbank and established as a new separate company registered in the Netherlands. This company was renamed as Credit Europe Bank and ownership was transferred to FIBA Group the holding company owned by original bank founder Hüsnü Özyeğin. National Bank of Greece subsequently increased its shareholding to 77% taking full control of the Turkish bank.

On March 18, 2014, Turkish daily Hürriyet reported the purchase by National Bank of Greece (NBG) of Soyak Kristal Kule (Soyak Crystal Tower), a 40-floor, 60,000 square-meter office tower in the Levent business district of Istanbul.^[3] The property was purchased for a reported price of $303M (US) from Koru Property Investments, a subsidiary of Soyak Group in Turkey. Hürriyet reported that NBG intended to use the newly-constructed tower as Finansbank's headquarters.^[4] The property includes an adjoining 12-floor structure of 30,000 square-meters which is topped by a helipad. The main building's Turkish name, Kristal Kule (Crystal Tower) refers to the glass-sheathed structure's asymmetric, faceted, sloping silhouette.^[5] The project was the first in Istanbul to use performance-based design (PBD). The principal architects were Pei Cobb Freed & Partners.^[2] The design, planning, engineering, and consulting firm, Arup, provided project management services for the project and offers images of the tower at its site.^[6]

Subsidiaries

• Finans Emeklilik
• Finans Faktoring
• Finans Invest
• Finans Leasing
• Finans Portföy
• Finans Tüketici Finansmanı
• IBTech

Banking Services

• Consumer Banking
• SME Banking
• Corporate Banking
• Private Banking

References

External links

• CardFinans
• CardFinans Ticari
• ClubFinans
• Fix Card
• KobiFinans