Garanti BBVA

Garanti BBVA welcomed the second century of the Turkish Republic with a sculpture by Metin Yurdanur, a renowned Turkish artist. Located at the bank’s headquarters in Zincirlikuyu, Istanbul, the ‘Republic Monument’ represents the ideals introduced by Atatürk enduring throughout the second century. Atatürk's light is carried into the future by the Turkish youth, with waves symbolizing the dynamic and enthusiastic values of the Republic. Standing at 6 meters tall with a 1.5-meter concrete base, the piece is crafted in cast bronze and stainless steel, and was designed exclusively for BBVA’s Turkish franchise.

The Garanti BBVA-sponsored fire prevention partnership dubbed ‘Türkiye's Life: Fire Management Grant Program’ and headed by WWF Türkiye has successfully completed three new projects. One initiative, managed by Natura, focused on protecting caracal populations; another developed an eco-kit to leverage local knowledge and practices for preventing and fighting forest fires in the Köyceğiz-Gökova area; while the third project implemented fire-resilient production models.

Koray Öztopçu, Head of Consumer Finance at Garanti BBVA, recently penned an Op-Ed piece on artificial intelligence (AI), new generations and consumer finance. In his article, he claims that Generations Y and Z account for a growing slice of the consumer pie, thus requiring brands to pursue creative strategies on various fronts, from the relationship they build with consumers to the values they embrace. They must also keep up with new technologies if they hope to offer creative digital financing options. Notably, a technological tidal wave is triggering transformation in many sectors and processes, from production all the way through to consumption.

Garanti BBVA has fully digitized its vehicle loan process, allowing individuals—following companies and self-employed customers—to obtain digital loans for nearly 40 automobile brands. Loan applications and onboarding can be completed on a smartphone without the need for any printed documents. BBVA’s Turkish franchise is the first and only bank in the country to offer this innovative service.

Garanti BBVA continues to add new cryptocurrencies to its mobile app. The bank is now  providing service for XRP, the crypto asset with the fifth largest market, and Arbitrum (ARB), a crypto asset that can be transferred on the ERC-20 network. They join Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), USD Coin (USDC), Avalanche (AVAX) and Chiliz (CHZ).

Garanti BBVA, Türkiye’s leading digital bank, is all set to stage ‘Istanbul Venture Day’ to support the startup ecosystem and help ramp up innovative fintech solutions. The event will be held at the Salt Galata center on October 24 and is being organized alongside IE University in Spain, with the close support of the Spanish and Italian consulates. It is essentially the Istanbul leg of the ‘Venture Day’ series being held by IE University ahead of the wider Global South Summit.

The Global Startup Awards (GSA), one of the most prestigious events for independent startups, will be held in Türkiye for the first time on September 24-25. With Garanti BBVA as the lead sponsor, GSA aims to recognize innovative startups in the Turkish entrepreneurship ecosystem, while bringing together a large community of entrepreneurs, investors, VCs, thought leaders, industry benchmarks, ecosystem partners, and other key stakeholders.

Garanti BBVA won the "Best Contact Center with More than 1,000 Employees" award in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia at the Global Top Ranking Performance Awards. The accolades, organized by Contact Center World, a leading authority in the contact center industry, drew over 2,000 entries from 80 countries. This year marked the 19th edition of the event.

Mahmut Akten, currently the Head of Corporate, Investment Banking and Global Markets at Garanti BBVA, will become CEO of the bank and Country Manager of BBVA in Turkey, replacing Recep Baştuğ, who is stepping down following an extensive career of more than three decades with the organization. The appointment will be effective following the completion of the regulatory approvals.

Garanti BBVA has once again been named the ‘Best Cash Management Bank in Türkiye’ at the 2024 Best Treasury & Cash Management Banks 2024 Awards organized by Global Finance, one of the world’s leading financial magazines.

Garanti BBVA’s crypto app provides a secure and user-friendly crypto wallet and trading experience, while adding new tokens to its asset portfolio every day. The app currently offers support for Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), USD Coin (USDC) and Avalanche (AVAX), and now users will be able to transfer and store their Chiliz (CHZ) over the Ethereum network.

Seray İmer, Head of Sustainability at Garanti BBVA, recently took part in a ‘Sustainable Future’ show on Bloomberg HT TV, where she outlined Garanti BBVA’s key commitments and targets for a less polluted world.

Garanti BBVA received 10 different awards at the EMEA Finance Achievement and Project Finance Awards. EMEA Finance is one of the leading financial publications in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Garanti BBVA announced the renewal of its sustainable syndicated loan. The bank plans to use the loan to finance foreign trade, for general corporate purposes, and to further its commitment to finance investments that support the transition to a low carbon economy.   Indexed to sustainable criteria, Garanti BBVA was the first bank in the world to launch a syndicated sustainable loan in 2020.

Garanti BBVA now offers end-to-end online loans for 40 automotive brands. In July 2023, the bank became the first to offer this service, starting with two brands. The loans for zero-kilometer vehicles are available for the bank’s corporate clients, small businesses and self-employed on the Garanti BBVA Mobile app and website.

Garanti BBVA continues to enhance its offerings, simplifying life for customers by integrating vehicle-related products and services into a single platform with the "My Vehicle" feature on Garanti BBVA Mobile, the most widely used banking app in Türkiye. Customers can add their license plate information to Garanti BBVA Mobile to track all transactions, expenditures, and campaigns related to their vehicles in one place.

Garanti BBVA’s mobile platform for cryptocurrencies now offers Avalanche c-chain support for AVAX coins, an asset in high demand in Türkiye.

In a bid to protect its customers from telephone scams, Garanti BBVA has launched a new  feature in its mobile app to reassure customers that the calls they receive from the bank are being made via the bank’s secure channels. When taking a call from somebody claiming to represent the bank, the customer can track whether the caller is genuinely from Garanti BBVA and can see the name of the caller on the alerts screen in the mobile app.

Garanti BBVA recently held its fifth ‘Sustainable Future in Exports’ meeting in Adana, Türkiye, a hub for Turkish exports. The bank is organizing the series of meetings to encourage foreign investment in the country and boost Türkiye’s export sector in the framework of the European Green Deal.  The event brought together renowned leaders and experts in the field who offered their economic analysis and insights on possible sustainable solutions.

Garanti BBVA, a leader in digital payment innovation in Türkiye, has introduced the country's first biometric verification card, the Bonus Platinum Biometric Card. This groundbreaking product, described as a "game-changing technology" in payment systems, enables users to make quick, unencrypted, and secure payments by scanning their fingerprints. It also allows for limitless secure contactless payments, setting a new standard in the industry.

The new Salt exhibition, ‘Hava Dair’ (About the Air)  aims to give life to the social and environmental aspects of air pollution through a series of different experiments. The exhibition, which is sponsored by Garanti BBVA, was designed by the Milan-based design studio 2050+ for Salt's Beyoğlu location. It can be visited free of charge until August 18th.

Garanti BBVA International, a Garanti BBVA subsidiary known for its ongoing sustainable financing initiatives, has reached an agreement with Kordsa Teknik Tekstil A.Ş. (Kordsa) for a $50 million sustainable loan.

Garanti BBVA announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2024. The bank’s net income for the first three months of the year stood at TL 22.48 billion; total  assets were TL 2.46 trillion; and cash and non-cash loans reached TL 1.85 trillion. Customer deposits represented 71 percent of assets - the main source of funding. The total deposit base reached TL 1.75 trillion, up 9.3 percent this quarter.  Garanti BBVA’s capital adequacy ratio was 15.4 percent,*  its return on average equity (ROAE) was 36 percent, and return on average assets (ROAA) was 3.9 percent.

*Does not include  the forbearance introduced by BRSA

Bonus, Garanti BBVA’s most popular credit card, is now celebrating its 24th anniversary. Bonus also happens to be a credit card platform, having amassed some 18 million users and eight partner banks.

Garanti BBVA Digital Asset’s crypto app, ‘Garanti BBVA Crypto’ was recently presented the award for ‘Pioneers of Digital Finance’ by KPMG Turkey and the Financial Innovation and Technology Association (FINTR).

The BBVA Foundation and Salt, a non-profit cultural institution founded by Garanti BBVA, are joining forces to launch a grant program for Turkish artists, which includes a two-week residency in Spain and the opportunity to show the work produced in Türkiye and Spain.

SALT, Garanti BBVA’s cultural organization, is presenting ‘Is this Our Last Chance?’, a series of documentaries on the effects of climate change. It will be running at the walk-in cinema in SALT’s Beyoğlu facilities and can also be watched online at saltonline.org between February 29 and March 24.

Türkiye’s 17th Women Entrepreneur Awards, organized by Garanti BBVA alongside ‘The Ekonomist’ and the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Türkiye (KAGIDER) was recently held on February 27, 2024.