Yapı Kredi Bank

Italy's top bank UniCredit has confirmed its commitment to Turkey, where it has partnership in Yapı Kredi Bank with Koç Holding, hailing the country's long-term positive potentials.

Turkey’s Yapı Kredi Bank has announced its chief executive officer, Faik Açıkalın, will willingly retire from his position on Dec. 29 and applied to Turkey’s banking watchdog to appoint Gökhan Erün as the new CEO.

Despite heavy political and diplomatic problems in Turkey, there are signs of a boost in cultural life in the country, showing the desire of at least some Turkish people to stick with universal values. Istanbul in particular is blooming, with marquee arts and culture events opening seemingly every day. 

Moody's Investors Service has taken rating actions on 17 Turkish banks, changing the ratings outlook from stable to negative on 14 of the lenders.

The ratings of one additional bank were also downgraded with a negative outlook, while the ratings of two other banks were affirmed with outlooks unchanged.

Turkey's leading lenders have announced interest rate cuts in loans one-by-one, as the government calls for banks accordingly to "boost economic activity," ahead of a key meeting between Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and top bank representatives late on Nov. 1.