IslamicFinance.de

Turkish Islamic lender Turkiye Finans has been granted regulatory approval to raise $450 million via dollar-denominated sukuk. It previously issued dollar-denominated sukuk in 2013, a $500 million five-year deal that matures in May. The bank has been a frequent issuer of sukuk in the domestic market and has also tapped investors in Malaysia through ringgit-denominated deals.

Turkiye Finans announced plans for a EURO denominated Sukuk. This represents the first Euro denominated Sukuk in Turkey, though a number of US Dollar Sukuk have been issued previously, most recently by Turkish subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House (Kuveyt Turk) which issued a $350 million Sukuk in February 2016. Kuveyt Turk also recently issued an innovative CPI linked Sukuk, which illustrates a maturing market in Turkey.

Turkish Islamic lenders Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi and Albaraka Turk have applied separately to issue Islamic bonds, according to Turkey's Capital Markets Board. Turkiye Finans has applied to raise up to 1.5 billion lira ($513.2 million) through its wholly-owned unit, TF Varlik Kiralama. No tenor or details of underlying assets were given for the deal, which could be sold as a public offering or to qualified investors. Albaraka Turk, a unit of Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group, has also applied to raise up to 1 billion lira through its asset-leasing company, Bereket Varlik Kiralama. The bulk of sukuk issuance in Turkey has come from the government and the country's Islamic banks, although corporate issuance is also growing.

Turkiye Finans, the largest Islamic bank in Turkey, told regulators that its chief executive Derya Gurerk had resigned from his position on Friday, an unexpected move at a time of growing competition in the sector. Executive vice president Osman Celik would take over the role temporarily, the bank said in a regulatory filing without elaborating on the departure of Gurerk, who had served on the role since 2011. Turkiye Finans, in which Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank is the largest shareholder, has a predominant focus on corporate banking and is one of four incumbent Islamic banks in the country.

Turkish Islamic lender Turkiye Finans has received regulatory approval to raise 71 million lira ($31.5 million) via sukuk. The Islamic bonds will be issued through TF Varlik Kiralama, a wholly-owned unit of Turkiye Finans, which last year set up a 100 million lira sukuk issuance programme. No time frame was given for the deal. The bank also plans to issue by year end $50 million worth of ringgit-denominated sukuk in Malaysia, a market which it first tapped in July. Separately, three Turkish state-run banks plan to launch their own Islamic units, moves which are expected to increase competition in the sector and raise operating costs for incumbents.

Turkish Islamic lender Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi plans to establish a presence in Bahrain. No details were given on the timeframe to start operations or what type of licence was being sought. Turkiye Finans, in which Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank is the largest shareholder, announced the plans during a visit by bank officials to the Gulf state. The move would help rekindle Bahrain’s Islamic banking sector, which includes six retail banks and 18 wholesale banks. As of June, they held a combined $24.6 billion in assets, a 5.2 per cent drop from a year earlier. Turkey Finans is one of four Islamic banks in Turkey, and has a predominant focus on corporate banking.

Turkish lender Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi has raised 800 million ringgit ($252.21 million; Dh922.5 million) from an Islamic bond in Malaysia, its first issuance from a 3 billion ringgit programme announced last month. The issuance by Turkiye Finans, in which Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank is the largest shareholder, is the first ringgit-sukuk done in Malaysia by a Turkish issuer. Proceeds from the five-year sukuk will fund general corporate purposes and working capital requirements, according to HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd. HSBC Amanah and Standard Chartered Saadiq Bhd are jointly advising the Turkish bank.

Turkish lender Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi plans to sell 3 billion ringgit ($933 million) of Islamic bonds in Malaysia. The bank will initially raise 800 million ringgit with a five-year sukuk on June 30 which will have an annual return of six percent. Sukuk under the programme will have a tenure of one to 20 years. Funds raised will go towards general corporate purposes. The so-called sukuk murabaha will be issued through TF Varlik Kiralama, a wholly-owned unit of Turkiye Finans. Malaysia's RAM Ratings has accorded the programme an indicative long-term rating of AA3. HSBC Amanah Malaysia and Standard Chartered Saadiq are joint advisers.

Turkiye Finans has completed a $500m bond issue. The issue is rated -/-/BBB and its maturity is April 24, 2019. The issue/fixed reoffer price is 100 with a profit rate of 5.375%. The spread at reoffer was 363.4bp over mid-swaps. The bonds were launched on Tuesday April 15, payment date is April 24. Joint bookrunners are Citi, Emirates NBD, HSBC, QInvest.

Turkiye Finans navigated challenging markets on Tuesday to price its $500m five year sukuk inside guidance at 5.375%. After what one investor termed a “sluggish” start, the deal achieved a $1.4bn order book and rallied from par on the break to 100.125/100.375. Turkiye launched as tensions mounted again between Russia and Ukraine. The Russia 4.875% ’23 bond has fallen three points since the start of the week and equity markets are down. Despite this, the Turkish participation bank tightened its guidance from 5.5% and almost doubled its book.

Shares in Turkey's Gozde Girisim were up 9.49 pct to 4.50 lira, its upper limit for the session, after it mandated asset manager Unlu to sell its 11.57 percent stake in Turkish Islamic lender Turkiye Finans. Turkiye Finans is majority owned by Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank, and Gozde by Turkish conglomerate Ulker.

Azzad Asset Management recently hosted Dr. Mehmet Yesilyaprak of Turkiye Finans Bank at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Yesilyaprak gave the Azzad staff an update on the banking sector in Turkey and met afterwards with Azzad management to discuss areas of future collaboration. The Azzad Wise Capital Fund invests in deposits and notes from Turkiye Finans Bank, among other Islamic banks. The Fund also invests in sukuk. As of March 31, 2013, deposits from Turkiye Finans Bank represented approximately 13% of the Fund's holdings. Portfolio Manager Jamal Elbarmil recently highlighted the contribution of Turkey's Islamic banking sector to the Azzad Wise Capital Fund's first quarter results, stating that exposure to bank deposits from the four Turkish Participation Banks, including Turkiye Finans Bank, helped the Fund outperform its benchmark for the period.

Turkish Islamic bank Turkiye Finans issued a $500 million dollar-denominated sukuk, at a price of 3.95 percent on Wednesday. The bank, majority owned by Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank, had mandated Citigroup, HSBV, NCB Capital and Noor Islamic Bank for the issue last week.

Fitch Ratings has assigned Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi A.S.'s (Turkiye Finans) forthcoming Sukuk issue an expected rating of 'BBB(EXP)'. Turkiye Finans as the managing agent will actively manage this portfolio and ensure that profits are in line with the entire expected return on the Sukuk. The sukuk are asset-based not asset-backed. The 'BBB(EXP)' expected rating assigned to the Sukuk is driven solely by Turkiye Finans' Long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of BBB' as the Sukuk structure is viewed as an originator-backed/asset-based structure.

Turkiye Finans mandated Citigroup, HSBV, NCB Capital and Noor Islamic Bank for a dollar-denominated sukuk issue. Turkey's Capital Markets Board approved last week the bank's application for a sukuk issue of $500 million and 100 million lira ($55.78 million). ($1 = 1.7929 Turkish liras). Turkiye Finans is majority owned by Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank.

Turkish Islamic bank Turkiye Finans is in the final stage of preparing a sukuk issue which is planned to have a volume of around 100 million lira ($55 million). The bank, majority owned by Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank, could make the issue within several weeks if market conditions are right. Is Investment is mandated for the issue.

Standard and Poor’s (S&P) stated that Turkey’s participation (Islamic banks) “could continue their recent strong growth if they can cultivate stronger ties with their international owners and create a sustainable brand image,”. This puts ground to an Islamic finance market which is as old as the one in Malaysia and others in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
Turkiye Finans, Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank (KTPB) and Albaraka Turk Participation Bank (ATPB) have got majority GCC ownership interests. Asya Participation Bank (APB) has arranged a joint venture with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector funding arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB), called Tamweel Africa which invests in financial institutions, leasing entities and extends lines of credit to finance trade in sub-Saharan Africa.

Althouth the Turkish participation (Islamic) banking sector isn't as attractive as other sectors, it is one of the most competitive in the global Islamic finance landscape.
Therefore, the datas for the following banks:Turkiye Finans, Asya Bank, Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank and Albaraka Turk Participation Bank is very encouraging.

Turkey with a population nearing 70 million is an untapped market for participation investment funds especially equities, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), exchange traded commodities (ETCs) and index-linked equity funds. These funds of course are not only aimed at Muslim investors but also at those interested in alternative ethical and socially-responsible investment products.
Following the introduction of the Banking Act 2007, the country’s four participation (Islamic) banks — Albaraka Turk, Kuveyt Turk, Turkiye Finans and Asya Finans Participation Banks — were brought under the same provisions of the above act, which meant that the regulatory regime was exactly the same as for the conventional banks.
According to Sungurlu, the Kuveyt Turk GoldPlus ETF is a major step by participation banks in the Islamic investment space.

The funds collected at participation banks were up 13 percent and reached 30.4 billion TL (21.1 billion USD).
The number of participation bank branches was up 6 percent to 595 and the banks employed 12,404 people in the mentioned period.
The Participation Banks Association of Turkey has currently four members, including Albaraka Turk, Bank Asya, Kuveyt Turk, and Turkiye Finans.