Turkish banks: easy 2010, tricky 2011 | beyondbrics – FT.com

Shares in Isbank, Turkey’s biggest listed lender by assets, are up more than 1 per cent on Tuesday (see graph after the break) after the group announced a 2010 unconsolidated net profit increase of 26 percent to 2.98bn – comfortably ahead of expectations.

With lenders making hay from a combination of strong economic growth and wide margins, it was a record year for Isbank and the rest of the sector. But with growth now slowing and the central bank trying to limit credit expansion, 2011 could be more difficult for Turkey’s banks.

“Isbank is determined to accelerate its healthy and profitable growth domestically and in the nearby region based on the strength of its healthy financial structure in the coming
period,” chief executive Ersin Ozince said when the bank announced its resultsafter local markets closed on Monday.