Turkey’s Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) has announced that it will take over Pamukbank’s operations. The agency assured that the bank will continue doing business and that as of present, there is no intention to either close any of Pamukbank’s branches or dismiss any of its personnel.
The bank had previous plans to merge with the Yapi Kredi Bank but was unable to complete the transaction due to its capital deficit of two billion dollars. Established in 1955, Pamukbank was founded in order to finance cotton production in the region of Cukurova.
Turkey, struggling with an economic crisis, agreed in May 2001 to restructure its financial sector in return for aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The authorities abandoned a floating peg between the Turkish lira and the dollar in February last year as they sought to halt a flight of capital. The Turkish currency has since lost about 40 percent of its value against the dollar. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
