ABC Islamic Bank (E.C), Gulf International Bank and Standard Chartered Bank close USD200 million Murabaha Financing Facility for Kuveyt Turk Katilim Bankasi A.S.

Gulf International Bank B.S.C. and Standard Chartered Bank acted as the joint Bookrunners, ABC Islamic Bank (E.C.) is the Investment Agent while Standard Chartered Bank acted as the Documentation Bank for the Facility.

The Facility marks the first syndication for a participation bank in Turkey. General syndication for the Facility received strong support from the regional and international bank market and the Facility was over-subscribed by more than 100%. Kuveyt Turk opted to increase the Facility amount from the initial US$100 million to US$200 million and banks were nevertheless scaled back. The syndicate comprises 32 banks, which includes leading names from across Europe and the Middle East.

The signing ceremony for the Facility was held in Istanbul at the Ciragan Palace Hotel, Turkey and was attended by senior representatives of Kuveyt Turk, ABC Islamic Bank (E.C.), Gulf International Bank B.S.C., Standard Chartered Bank and the participating banks.

Company Description

Kuveyt Turk was licensed by the Central Bank of Turkey as a Turkish joint-stock company on February 28, 1989 and commenced its operations on March 31, 1989. The Bank operates under the supervision of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency.

Kuveyt Turk is one of four participation banks in Turkey and offers its clients interest-free corporate banking, retail banking, investment banking and international banking.

As of June 2006 Kuveyt Turk's total shareholders' equity stood at TRY 247,247,000 (US$154 million). The Company enjoys a strong shareholding structure, with Kuwait Finance House being the major shareholder at 62.25%, followed by the Turkish Foundations General Directorate, which owns around 18.75%, and Kuwait's Public Institution for Social Security and the Islamic Development Bank holding 9.00% of the capital each. The balance 1% is held by other shareholders.

Kuveyt Turk has followed a stable strategy of controlled and selective growth and has a network of 73 branches across Turkey. Kuveyt Turk's commitment to quality and customer service has been recognized, it is the first interest-free financial institution in Europe to have attained ISO 9001 quality management certification and the first banking institution to meet the International Standards Organization's 2001 quality criteria.

For the first half of 2006, Kuveyt Turk reported strong financial growth compared with the first half of 2005. Net profit increased by 334% to TRY 17,081,000 (US$10.7 million), and deposits and total assets increased by 64% and 63% to TRY 2,303,371,000 (US$1.44 billion) and TRY 2,972,300,000 (US$1.85 billion) respectively. Total shareholders equity grew by 16% to TRY 247,247,000 (US$154 million).