Turkey is often referred to as a hub of banking innovation in Europe. Not only does it have its local banks, but the best banks from across the world have a presence there. So which are the best banks in Turkey?

Most of the big banks in Turkey are in Istanbul, the capital of the country. This includes Finansbank, Akbank, Garanti Bank and Isbank. However, one of the largest banks in Turkey, Ziraat Bankasi, is actually located in Ankara.

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International banks in Turkey include HSBC, Citibank, ING Bank, JP Morgan Chase, RBS, and Societe Generale.

Founded in 1924, Isbank is often regarded as the largest bank in Turkey and launched the country’s first ATMs: Bankamatik. At the end of 2017, it had 1,364 branches and 6,545 Bankamatik ATMs. In digital terms, 5.2 million customers used its IsCep mobile app for transactions. Isbank currently holds TRY362.4bn ($80.4bn).

One of the many banks in Istanbul, Garanti Bank recorded net income of TRY3.3bn in 2017, a staggering 24% higher than the previous year. It offers services in all business lines, such as retail banking, private banking, corporate, SME, and payment systems.

Currently undergoing a digital transformation, Garanti now has 5.9 million digital banking customers, compared to 4.8 million in 2016, and 5 million mobile banking customers compared to 3.7 million year-on-year.

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Akbank was founded in 1948 and its largest shareholders are members of the Sabanci family, one of the wealthiest families in Turkey.

It has been ranked as the most valuable banking brand in Turkey by Brand Finance for six years in a row. In 2017, it was ranked 127th most valuable banking brand out of all banks in the world.

In the first quarter of 2018, Akbank saw its net income rise 14% year-on-year to hit TRY1.6bn.

Finansbank was, at one point, the largest Turkish bank in terms of foreign branches. In 2016, it was acquired by the QNB Group, the largest bank in the Middle East and Africa. The deal was completed on June 15 2016 and led to QNB holding a 99.8% stake in the bank.

Ziraat Bankasi is state-owned and was founded in 1863. According to the Bankscope database, it is the second biggest Turkish bank after Garanti according to total assets.  It has 1,814 branches across the world, 25,015 employees, and 6,869 ATMs.

It is hard to say what the best bank in Turkey is due to their amount of variance. Some are more digitally orientated, while some prefer the personal touch. For sheer presence in Turkey, it would be hard to be against Isbank or Garanti. However, if you wanted a bank with more of an international presence, Finansbank and Ziraat have an arguable larger global reach.