He reaffirmed that Denizbank will remain a key pillar in this core business, reminding investors that Denizbank is among Dexia's largest cash cows.
He and other Dexia executives as well as Denizbank General Manager Hakan Ateş spoke at a press conference on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in İstanbul.
Dexia's decision to purchase Denizbank, he reiterated, was one of the bank's better investment decisions, adding that it had exceeded the 10 percent profit target Dexia had set for Denizbank to contribute to the bank's overall portfolio. “There is no reason to have doubts about Turkey's potential growth,” Decraene said.
Decraene underlined the importance of Denizbank in Dexia's portfolio, saying that since Dexia's acquisition of the bank in 2006, Denizbank had acquired more than TL 400 million in additional capital as well as TL 760 million in subordinated debt. There had also been significant injections to ensure liquidity in the immediate aftermath of the crisis, with the bank receiving third-party long-term funding from such institutions as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and a 550 million euro facility from the European Investment Bank (EIB), this in addition to help from Dexia.
“We provided liquidity in order to continue to give credit to its customers [even when] most of the banks stopped their credit activities or slowed them down.” “Denizbank,” he stated, “continued its activities even in the worst of the crisis.” In fact, 50 new branches have been slotted to open by the end of the year, and the bank hopes to have a total of 600 branches by the end of 2011. There are presently 450 branches in Turkey and 12 abroad.
Since Dexia's acquisition of Denizbank from Zorlu Holding in 2006, the bank has taken on a somewhat new role. Relying on Dexia's experience as one of the world's largest public sector lenders, Denizbank has emerged as the leading Turkish bank in the field of public lending. Funding such notable projects as the metrobus line, the Memorial Hospital and projects at the İstanbul Atatürk Airport, the bank has set a trend, becoming not only the first bank to specialize in public sector lending but also in project financing.
