Garanti Bank

Net profit more than doubled at Spanish lender BBVA in the first quarter from a year ago, as its Turkish arm, Garanti Bankasi also increases profits. 

Like Spanish peer Santander, BBVA makes more than 80 percent of its profit overseas, a model that helped it to counter a double-dip recession at home in recent years.

Spanish lender BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria) has acquired control of Garanti Bank, one of Turkey's biggest lenders, by raising its stakes to almost 40 percent.

The Turkish Central Bank topped the corporate tax champion list in 2013 by paying nearly 900 million Turkish Liras, figures released by the Revenue Administration have reported.