ISTANBUL

Net profits of Türkiye's banking sector totaled 658.97 billion Turkish liras ($18.77 billion) in 2024, the country's banking watchdog said Thursday.

The banking sector's net profits climbed 6.2% compared to 2023, according to Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) data.

Total assets of the sector were 32.67 trillion liras ($929.59 billion) as of end-December, soaring 38.7% on a yearly basis.

Loans, the biggest sub-category of assets, totaled 16 trillion liras ($457.03 billion), soaring 37.1% on an annual basis.

Deposits held at lenders in Türkiye – the largest liabilities item – totaled 18.9 trillion Turkish liras ($538.47 billion), jumping 27.3% from January-December the previous year.

Pointing to lenders' minimum capital requirements, the banking sector's regulatory capital-to-risk-weighted-assets ratio – the higher the better – was 19.07 by end-2023, up from 19.69% in December 2024.

The ratio of non-performing loans to total cash loans – the lower the better – stood at 1.78% in the same period, versus 1.6% a year ago.

As of end-2024, a total of 61 state/private/foreign lenders – including deposit banks, participation banks, and development and investment banks – operated in the Turkish banking sector.

The sector had 208,7289 employees serving at 10,950 branches both in Türkiye and overseas.