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On the wholesale side, Garanti Bank’s strength is its employees, who are widely regarded as among the brightest and most dynamic in the Turkish banking sector. As a result the bank has played a key role in deals such as the privatization of Turk Telekom and the project finance loan for Istanbul’s Ataturk international airport, the largest private sector loan ever undertaken in Turkey.

On the retail side, the bank, which recently partnered with GE Consumer Finance, has exploited its advanced CRM system to increase cross-selling and profitability per customer, which has risen by about 32% over the past year.

Garanti’s growth has been phenomenal even by Turkish standards. Last year the bank’s consumer loan portfolio grew by 359% as the bank expanded its customer base by 18%.

Competitor Isbank’s progress has been impressive, while last year’s winner Akbank has made some slip-ups, including a decision to finance its growing mortgage loan portfolio with equity, a decision that has drawn criticism from analysts.