Garanti BBVA’s economic contribution reached TL 446 billion
Türkiye Garanti Bankası A.Ş., announced its financial statements dated 31 March 2021. Based on consolidated financials, the Bank’s net income in the first three months of the year were recorded as TL 2.54 billion. Asset size realized at almost TL 569 billion and the Bank’s contribution to the economy through cash and non-cash loans was arround TL 446 billion. Actively managing the funding base, deposits continued to be the main funding source; 65% of assets were funded via deposits.
Deposit base reached arround TL 372 billion with 4% growth in the first 3 months of the year. Preserving a strong capital stance, the Bank’s capital adequacy ratio reached 15.8%. The Bank delivered a ROAE (Return on Average Equity) of 16.7% and a ROAA (Return on Average Assets) of 1.9%.
Commenting on the topic, Garanti BBVA CEO Recep Baştuğ said: “More than one year has passed since the global pandemic´s announcement, but nevertheless its effects are ongoing all over the world. In this environment, Turkey became one of the exceptional countries that achieved positive growth worldwide in 2020. In 2021, we think that this positive development will continue and we will achieve an approximate 5% growth.
The rise in interest rates that began in 2020 and continued in 2021, along with the currency have brought the bank into an extremely dynamic period. Under these circumstances, Garanti BBVA completed the first quarter with very successful financial results with the country´s positive divergence. The bank's contribution to the economy increased by 7% and reached 446 billion TL year-to-date. Also, the market share in TL loans has increased to 10%.
“While we continue to support the economy, we will also maintain a prudent stance on asset quality. In 2020, we proactively started to take precautions for negative developments, which we knew would take place in 2021,” said Recep Baştuğ. A summary of Garanti BBVA´s cautious stance in 2020 include provisions, restructurings, TL loan growth instead of foreign currency, along with accurate and timely loan classifications. In this quarter, the bank has taken all kinds of economic measures to protect both customers and balance sheets and it will continue to do so. “We are one of the banks with the highest coverage ratio in the Turkish banking sector. In the upcoming period, financial health will be one of our key strategies for both our customers and our bank,” he added.
Due to the bank´s and real sector´s risk preferences, while foreign currency loans decreased steadily, consistent TL loan growth took its place. This transformation was also Garanti BBVA´s priority. Going forward, the continuation of this trend, both in the sector and at Garanti BBVA, will be evident.
Digital transformation
Historically, Garanti BBVA is now Turkey's largest investor in technology and digitalization and has completed all its preparations for the new era. During the pandemic period, digital customer transactions increased by 70% and the number of digital customers reached 9.9 million, so that it´s priority now is customer acquisition from digital channels.
The opportunity to become a customer through digital channels, will carry the sector to another dimension; open banking and open market operations will follow, respectively. The end-to-end digital process of becoming a customer will create a fast, time-and-place-independent experience for customers compared to traditional methods. Today, customers can instantly benefit from a wide array of banking products and services.
The payment system´s business transformation has also gathered pace during the pandemic. Customers can now receive their credit cards without going to branches and make remote and contactless payments as well, which are of high importance. As the leading bank in payment systems and the first bank in Turkey to offer virtual POS and contactless payments for years now, Garanti BBVA continues to meet the increasing demands of our customers with innovative offerings.
Sustainability
Another important issue that grew with the pandemic was sustainability. “At Garanti BBVA, we integrate sustainability into our business model, positioning it as one of our main strategic priorities,” said the Garanti BBVA CEO. For two years now, the bank has been acquiring all its energy from renewable sources. “We reduced our carbon emissions by 75% and can now proudly call ourselves a carbon-neutral company. In this period, as an important indicator of our support and contribution to renewable energy, we pledged not to finance coal-related activities and to commit to completely terminating our dealings with this sector by no later than 2040.”
“Going forward, we will be one of the top institutions in sustainability, with practices and social awareness that will serve as an example. I would like to thank my colleagues for their relentless efforts and contributions in achieving our bank’s first quarter results as well as our stakeholders who support and trust us in our journey,” added Recep Baştuğ.