Page 22 - A&T BANK ANNUAL REPORT 2012

GENERAL INFORMATION
CORPORATE MANAGEMENT
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
MESSAGE FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER
The global economy continued to weaken during 2012, largely
due to the economic woes of developed nations. After shrinking
by 1.4% in 2011, the Eurozone contracted by another 0.4%
in 2012. The expectations about the future of the Euro and
the performance of the governments within the Eurozone to
implement the required measures swiftly will be the key factors
to determine the economic outlook of the Eurozone in 2013.
Although the American economy has a slightly more sanguine
outlook than that of Europe, new decisions by the Fed will have
a considerable impact on emerging economies such as Turkey,
where the American quantitative easing program has triggered
cash inflows.
While Europe deals with economic woes, although with
decreasing momentum, Turkey has managed to maintain the
growth trend it has been enjoying since 2010. In addition to
8.5% growth in 2011, gross domestic product expanded at a
3.2% annual rate in the first nine months of 2012. The Turkish
economy has produced this economic performance without
compromising its budget discipline. Factors which reduced
Turkey’s economic vulnerability include the pivot to new foreign
markets, the measures implemented by monetary authorities
to strike a balance between external and domestic demand
and the shrinking current account deficit. In addition, the rise
in global liquidity, falling domestic interest rates and Fitch’s
decision to upgrade Turkey’s credit rating to investment grade
all contributed to the considerable optimism in the domestic
markets, especially in the second half of the year. We are of the
opinion that the positive outlook of the Turkish economy and
improvements in the main macroeconomic indicators, thus the
healthy growth performance, will continue in the period ahead.
In this framework, GDP growth is expected to be around 4.5%
in 2013.
In 2012, the Turkish banking sector continued its growth
momentum, expanded the loan and deposit volume significantly
and preserved its profitability. The sector expanded its total
assets, loans and deposits above the previous year by 13%, 16%
and 11%, respectively. Net term profit increased by 19% year-
on-year and return on equity of the banking sector increased
from 15.5% to 15.8%. The banking sector is expected to maintain
its uptrend in volume and profitability in 2013. Any credit rating
upgrade to investment grade from the rating agencies could
bring down funding costs and thus necessitate an upward
revision of profit forecasts.
During 2012, A&T Bank, enjoying a unique position in the
Turkish banking sector, had important achievements in terms
of maintaining sustainable profitability and attaining financial
targets. While the asset size of the Bank reached TL 2.7 billion,
cash loans and customer deposits expanded by 6% and 7%,
respectively. Shareholder equity went up 16.6% to TL 412.7
million and net profit for the period rose 22% to TL 58.7 million.
A&T Bank capped the year with a 2.46% return on assets
and 16.58% return on equity, which were 2.12% and 15.72%,
respectively at end-2011, thus outperforming the sector
average. Capital adequacy indicators maintained their robust
outlook at 22.77% at end-2012. A&T Bank continued to provide
support to the national economy through a foreign trade volume
reaching US$ 2.3 billion.
Through the adverse events which erupted in main the target
markets, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) recently, A&T
Bank directed its attention to alternative markets and products,
thus succeeding in closing this challenging period with favorable
results. As the process of economic liberalization in the MENA
region is reaching completion, the Bank will gear up its foreign
A&T Bank capped the year 2012, a very challenging
economic period for all countries across the world,
with very successful financial results.