TKBB 22ND ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY HELD

At the General Assembly, which was held with the participation of representatives of member participation finance institutions, evaluations were made on the current situation of participation finance institutions and the Turkish economy. In the General Assembly, where the predictions for the future course of our country's economy were also discussed, the effects of the earthquake that occurred in Kahramanmaraş and affected 11 provinces were also discussed.

Participation Finance's Support to the Country's Economy was Evaluated at the General Assembly Meeting

Osman Çelik, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of TKBB, who also made statements at the General Assembly Meeting, evaluated the local and global developments in the fields of finance and economy in 2022 and said, "As the Participation Banks Association of Türkiye, member participation finance institutions also displayed a successful financial performance in 2022, when we took important steps for the development of the sector and increase its competitiveness. As of the end of 2022, the funds collected increased by 60.14 percent to TL 891,066 billion and the funds disbursed increased by 74.3 percent to TL 643,814 billion. Net profitability increased by 443 per cent and asset size grew by 65.6 per cent to TL 1,187,613 billion. With these financial results, our share in the banking sector reached 8.4 per cent. As a sector, we have taken steps to increase financial access and inclusion, and we have taken important steps in diversifying the products and services required by our customers with the principles and standards of participation finance. I believe that we will make significant contributions to our country's economy in 2023 with our sustainable and healthy growth approach.

TECHNOLOGY-ORIENTED FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS ARE A NECESSITY IN THE PARTICIPATION FINANCE SECTOR

In 2022, participation finance institutions, which embarked on a digital breakthrough, have made significant developments in the ecosystem both in Turkey and in the world. With the regulation on the Operating Principles of Digital Banks and Service Model Banking published at the end of 2022, two new participation-based digital finance institutions, Hayat Finans Participation and TOM Participation Bank, received permission from the BRSA and started their operations. With the inclusion of our digital participation finance institutions in the ecosystem, we aim to increase our market share to 10.6 per cent in 2023. As of last year, our total number of branches increased by 5.2 percent to 1,379. Again last year, the number of our personnel increased by 4.2 per cent to 17,868. While our share in the number of branches in the banking sector reached 12.5 percent, our share in the number of personnel increased to 8.7 percent. Thus, while contributing financing and employment to our country's economy in 2022, we achieved growth above the banking sector in terms of financial performance. Technology-oriented financial solutions have become a necessity in the participation finance sector in recent years. As of 2022, the number of active digital banking customers in participation finance institutions exceeded 4.7 million, while the volume of digital transactions reached TL 2.9 trillion. This growth will gain momentum with the full inclusion of our new participation-based digital finance institutions."

Evaluating the Turkish economy in 2022, TKBB Chairperson Osman Çelik added: "The success achieved despite the global economic conjuncture, which is still in the recovery phase after the Russia-Ukraine war, has once again shown us the resilience of the Turkish economy. In addition, we continue to take the necessary actions by making extraordinary efforts to eliminate the effects of the earthquake that recently occurred in our country and affected 11 provinces. When we look at the general economic outlook, we have contributed to the acceleration of the economy with the incentives and support packages implemented to support the real sector. We have provided support to strategic sectors determined to support domestic production and exports, especially the defence industry. On the other hand, the high natural gas reserves found in the Black Sea and the oil reserves found in Şırnak are very important and pleasing news for 2023 in terms of reducing our dependence on foreign energy."

Stating that participation finance institutions will continue to increase their support to the economy, Çelik said that participation finance institutions will be the most important supporter of export-oriented, import substitution products that add added value to our country, particularly SMEs in this process. Osman Çelik, who made explanations regarding the project work carried out by the Association for this purpose, stated that the establishment procedures of Participation Finance Surety Inc. have been completed in order to provide surety support to the works and transactions in accordance with the principles of participation finance with the support and suggestions of our Minister of Treasury and Finance Assoc. Dr. Nureddin Nebati. Referring to the functions of the PFS, Osman Çelik said, "Participation finance sector customers will find solutions to the problem of accessing the collateral they need for production, trade and export with the surety mechanism. Our company will accelerate the contributions of the PFS's participation finance institutions to the real sector in addition to facilitating access to financing needed by SMEs in particular, in accordance with its purpose and strategy, both with its own equity and with the support to be provided by the Treasury."

WE GAINED NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MOMENTUM

TKBB Chairperson Çelik commented: "2022 was a year in which the Association's activities in every field diversified and gained momentum. It continued to make multifaceted and strong contributions to the development and growth of the participation finance sector in national and international arenas. Established in 2018, the Central Advisory Board continued to develop principles and standards for the participation finance ecosystem. To date, it has adopted 5 basic standards and 68 general and special decisions. We prioritised the establishment of a communication network with international institutions and organisations as a strategic action. For this purpose, contact was established with interest-free finance authorities, regulatory bodies, participation finance institutions and academic circles of countries such as Malaysia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Djibouti, Bangladesh, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, and cooperation steps was taken. In our strategy report, which we updated the previous year, we planned the actions to be taken for the healthy and sustainable development of participation finance in our country in line with our 2025 target of reaching a market share of 15 percent under six main strategic goals. With the participation of all stakeholders of our sector, we created our 2025 vision with the goals of Communication, Ecosystem, Product Diversity, Standards and Governance, Digital and Competence Building."

GENERAL MANAGER OF EMLAK KATILIM İLKER SIRTKAYA BECAME THE NEW CHAIRPERSON OF TKBB

With the election held at the General Assembly, Vakıf Participation General Manager Osman Çelik handed over his duty as the Chairperson of TKBB to Emlak Participation General Manager İlker Sırtkaya.