| Headline: Banks face up to the capital crunch Source: Euromoney Date: November 2001
The last time Euromoney interviewed Akçakoca he was sharply critical of lax supervision and bad governance and waxed lyrical about the need for reform. The ex-Citibank and American Express banker was then general manager of Kocbank, a medium-size bank owned by Turkey’s richest family, the Kocs. Less than two years on he is chief regulator. But the system he wanted to change has become so frail that he is administering first aid, not proper surgery. “The situation is far from ideal,” he says bluntly. “The Turkish banking system has lost its capital base.” Rating agency Fitch agrees: “Capital is the critical issue for the future of the banking system,” proclaims a recent report. Some analysts fear that undercapitalization, poor profitability and a high level of non-performing loans might trigger a new crisis. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||