Hurriyet Daily News - Türkiye’s banking sector is expected to add more than 400 new branches this year, supplying new jobs for over 10,000 people with the impact of the growth in general directorate staff.
As of the last quarter of 2009, deposit, development and investment banks added 246 branches within a year, reaching 9,036 branches in total, according to the December 2009 report of the Banks Association of Türkiye. The banks added 141 branches compared to July-September 2009 period.
The number of employees at deposit, development and investment banks rose by 805 people within the last year and 1,642 people compared to July-September 2009 period, and reached a total of 172,403 people.
State-owned Halkbank, which reached 668 branches in 2009, considers adding 45-50 new branches at minimum this year, and employing 1,250 new people in the first stage.
Meanwhile, Yapı Kredi, co-owned by UniCredit, plans to open 60 branches this year, employing 1,000 new people, including its subsidiaries. Garanti, the Turkish lender co-owned by General Electric Co., aims to add approximately 80 new branches over the period and reach 875 branches. It also plans to employ around 700 people to increase its staff from 16,799 to 17,500.
Finansbank, the Turkish unit of National Bank of Greece, and Denizbank, the Turkish unit of Belgium’s Dexia, envisage adding 50 branches with 1,500 jobs and 25 branches with 850 jobs this year respectively.