Eurobank Tekfen’s new corporate identity was presented at a press meeting held in Istanbul on January 11. During the meeting the shareholders and the management gave an overview of the bank’s strategy and goals to further develop its activities in the Turkish market. The press meeting was attended by Messrs. Erhan Öner President of Tekfen Group, Nicholas Nanopoulos, CEO of Eurobank EFG, Nikolaos Karamouzis, Deputy CEO of Eurobank EFG & Vice Chairman of Eurobank Tekfen, Ercan Kumcu, Chairman of Eurobank Tekfen, and Mehmet N. Erten, CEO of Eurobank Tekfen.
Mr. Erhan Öner, President and CEO of Tekfen Group, one of Turkey’s most respected conglomerates, which holds a 30% stake of Eurobank Tekfen, expressed satisfaction with the level of cooperation between the two shareholders and his confidence in the bank’s prospects in the Turkish market. “I am very proud of the developments in the Bank as a result of the constructive cooperation between Tekfen Group and Eurobank EFG. The financial strength, the experience, and the commitment of the two partners to close cooperation will set the stage for Eurobank Tekfen’s further development and success”, said Mr. Erhan Oner.
Mr. Nicholas Nanopoulos, CEO of Eurobank EFG, the main shareholder of Eurobank Tekfen with a 70% participation in Eurobank Tekfen, said: “The foundations on which the Turkish economy’s recent successes rest are certainly much stronger than they were in the past. Economic development is now based on a sustained program of far-reaching macroeconomic and structural reforms that have strengthened the economy’s fundamentals while also bolstering its resilience to outside shocks. Likewise the banking sector is expected to continue to expand rapidly to meet the growing needs of the Turkish companies and citizens. That is why we would like to further strengthen and expand our presence in the Turkish banking sector”.
Eurobank Tekfen’s customer base currently comprises mainly small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) from various industries, with which the Bank retains a long and close business relation. Moreover, Eurobank Tekfen has also retail - mostly high-end - customers.
Mr M.N. Erten, Eurobank Tekfen’s CEO said: “The new identity reflects the shareholders’ strong relationship and the Bank’s development into a modern and strong financial institution, combining the wealth of experience of Tekfen Group and the innovative spirit and the successful business model of Eurobank EFG”.
“At the end of 2007, Eurobank Tekfen had a network of 37 branches. Our strategy for the future focuses on accelerated growth in the sectors of Corporate Banking and Capital Markets through the provision of innovative products and services to large, medium and small enterprises in Turkey, which are estimated to be circa 2.5 million. We will also gradually develop the Bank’s presence in the Household sector. Overall the Bank aims to increase balances per client and to intensify cross-selling with other countries in the region”, said the Bank’s CEO, Mr. Mehmet N. Erten.
“Over the last year, we have also strengthened our teams in Large Corporate, Leasing and Factoring, where we intend to grow rapidly. Furthermore, Eurobank Tekfen intends to penetrate new growing sectors of the banking market, such as asset and capital management. In addition, the Bank intends to further expand its branch network significantly in the next years and build further its capital market activities through EFG Istanbul Securities”, said Mr. Erten.
Eurobank Tekfen’s total assets grew by 147% in 2007, reaching (2.8 billion YTL (2.42 billion USD) and by the end of 2008 its total assets are estimated to reach 3.6 billion YTL( (3.11 billion USD).
Eurobank Tekfen is a member of Eurobank EFG Group, an international banking organization with total assets of over $91.8 bn (€63.3 bn). The Group employs more than 22,000 people and offers its products and services both through its network of over 1,500 branches and points of sale and through alternative distribution channels.
In Greece, Eurobank EFG Group is the leader in consumer lending, mutual fund management, investment banking, equity brokerage and life insurance. It is also the largest lender to small businesses in the country and among the largest lenders to large domestic corporations of the private sector.
In the wider region of Southeastern and Central Europe (New Europe), Eurobank EFG Group ranks among the top banks in all countries where it has an established presence, namely Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia. Since 2006, Eurobank EFG Group has also entered the markets of Poland, Turkey, Ukraine and Cyprus. Eurobank EFG has so far invested approximately $3.0 bn (€2.0 bn) in New Europe.
The Group’s strategic objective is to position itself as the Bank of first choice for all clients in the countries it is active in, and to support sound entrepreneurial forces and households so as to actively take part in the economic growth. To achieve these goals the Bank depends on its successful business model, its modern organizational and operational structure, its customer-oriented approach, its emphasis on quality and innovation and most importantly the high standards of its human resources. It thus achieves dynamic growth, with a sense of responsibility towards clients, shareholders and the society.
Eurobank EFG is a member of EFG Group, the third largest banking group in Switzerland, following UBS and Credit Suisse. Eurobank EFG is also among Greece’s largest listed companies by market capitalization and enjoys a wide shareholder base of over 210,000 shareholders.
Eurobank TEKFEN press meeting held in Istanbul
(from left to right): Nikolaos Karamouzis (Eurobank Tekfen Vice President & Eurobank EFG Deputy CEO), Nicholas Nanopoulos (Eurobank EFG CEO), Erhan Öner (Tekfen Group President), Mehmet N. Erten (Eurobank Tekfen General Manager), Elif Bilgi(Eurobank Tekfen Board Member).