ISTANBUL
International credit rating agency Fitch has said foreign banks were likely to seek Turkish bank acquisitions in 2013 in an attempt to benefit from the country's "strong economy and banking sector."
In a press release on Monday, Fitch said Turkey's banking sector's "healthy credit fundamentals, market size (including a large bankable population) and the broadly favourable outlook for Turkey's economy make it particularly attractive, adding that further consolidation of the sector was likely.
"Turkey's medium-sized banks are the most likely acquisition targets because of uncertainty about the long-term sustainability of their operations as independent entities," Fitch said.
It said the country's banking sector had good liquidity, held up by a stable retail deposit funding base, low leverage, still wide margins by international standards and strong credit demand, however, warned that a return to rapid loan growth could lead to a build-up of risks in the system.
