Alternatif Bank completed 2020 in line with its growth targets despite the persistent effects of the pandemic throughout the year. On a consolidated basis, the Bank increased its assets to TRY 36.8 billion, 22% up over the past year. The Bank’s contribution to the economy through cash and non-cash loans is also up 25% reaching TRY 32 billion.

Alternatif Bank’s assets are up 22% from 2019, reaching TRY 36.8 billion on a consolidated basis at the end of 2020. Over the past year, the Bank’s total contribution to the economy through cash (including finance lease receivables) and non-cash loans is TRY 32 billion, while its deposit volume increased by 15% reaching TRY 18.3 billion. Preserving its robust capital structure throughout the year, Alternatif Bank increased its shareholders’ equity by 24% from the year-end, and its consolidated net profits reached TRY 121.6 million.

Commenting on the financial results, Alternatif Bank CEO Kaan Gür said, “Leaving behind a year marked by the pandemic and its impacts on social and economic life around the globe, our top priority has been to protect the health of our employees and customers at all costs. As Alternatif Bank, we quickly adapted to the necessities of this new era, including health precautions and remote working, and reached our year-end targets, managing this challenging time with success. I would like to thank all my colleagues for their excellent work in this respect. We continued serving our customers with our insightful and advisory banking approach despite the limitations on physical contact due to the pandemic. We stood by our customers with our Bank’s extensive know-how, technology, and funding and restructuring support. As a matter of fact, we had already set in motion our plans for operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as part of our digital transformation project before the coronavirus outbreak. In 2020, we offered our retail and corporate customers an enhanced experience and value-creating services with a broad spectrum of innovative solutions including our renewed mobile and internet banking channels, e-signature, e-letter of guarantee, hybrid supplier financing system and our customer interface at the branches. We hope that we will be reaping the rewards of this transformation process in 2021. This way, we will expand our customer base especially in the retail segment, and offer our customers more of our advisory banking solutions.”

Regarding Alternatif Bank’s focus on trade finance, Gür also commented: “Over the past year, we continued to support international trade, which is gaining even more importance every year, as part of our strategic objectives. USD 50 million SME lending procured from the EBRD and IFC in the final quarter is a good example of this. Despite the downward trend in global trade and Türkiye’s declining exports due to the pandemic, our Bank increased its export finance lending to USD 1.5 billion, up 24%. Our strong relationships with international institutions also reinforced the trust bestowed upon Alternatif Bank and our success in trade finance in 2020.

We estimate that the impacts of the pandemic will prevail especially in the first quarter of 2021. We are expecting a much more positive second half as vaccination programs pick up speed. Therefore, we believe 2021 will be a year of growth for Türkiye and its banking industry. Thanks to our robust relationships with correspondent banks, we will continue using our resources in a way to foster the sustainable growth of production, investments, exports and trade.”