Garanti Gives Up Loan Limits as Turkey Signals Target Dumped

Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS, Turkey’s biggest listed bank, is abandoning efforts to stem loan growth that cut third-quarter profit as authorities signaled a reluctance to enforce curbs, said Mehmet Sezgin, general manager of the credit card unit.

Garanti’s third-quarter net income was lower than the previous three months and will recover as lending growth persists, he said. Economy Minister Ali Babacan said June 7 that banks could be penalized for boosting loans by more than 25 percent a year as the government sought to ease inflation and stem credit-fueled demand for imported goods. Babacan said Sept. 13 the administration would no longer enforce the limit for individual banks as Europe’s debt crisis threatens growth.