Turkey's non-banking financial sector assets go up

By Ali Atar

ISTANBUL

Non-banking financial sector assets increased by 19.5 percent to reach 120 billion Turkish liras ($34.26 billion) in the first half of 2017 compared with same period in 2016, Association of Financial Institutions' (FKB) data showed Tuesday.

The FKB, which represents leasing, factoring and financing companies, announced the first six months' consolidated data of three sectors.

According to the data, the total assets of three sectors jumped by 19.5 percent to 120 billion Turkish liras ($34.26 billion) and the net profitability surged by 28.6 percent to 1.33 billion Turkish liras ($379.78 million), during the first six months of 2017, compared with the same period in the previous year.

The sector's transaction volume rose by 18.4 percent to 91 billion Turkish liras ($25.98 billion), while the total equity increased by 18.1 percent to 17 billion Turkish liras ($4.85 billion).

Speaking at a news conference in Istanbul, FKB Chairman Mehmet Cantekin said: "We are very optimistic for the whole year of 2017 and we expect to see a growth rate of 20 percent."