Profit in Turkey’s banking industry declined by 7 percent last year, according to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), the Ahval news website reported.
Net income fell to 49.8 billion lira ($8.4 billion), BDDK figures published on its website on Thursday showed. Profit was 53.5 billion lira in 2018, or about $10.2 billion at exchange rates in December of that year.
The loan books of banks expanded by 11 percent in 2019 to 2.66 trillion lira. Deposits jumped by 26 percent to 2.6 trillion lira, helped by a move by account holders into foreign currency.
Non-performing loans accounted for 5.33 percent of total loans last year compared to 3.87 percent in 2018, the BDDK said.
A total of 51 banks operate in Turkey, employing 204,626 people in 11,374 branches in the country and overseas, according to the watchdog.