The expansion rate of Turkey’s finance industry (financial and insurance) slowed to 7.1% y/y in the second quarter of 2014 from 14% y/y in the first quarter, bringing the sector’s growth to 10.7% y/y in the first half of the year. The sector’s expansion, though slower compared to the previous three quarters, was still above the economy’s overall GDP growth and pointed to a healthy banking sector in an increasingly challenging environment. The latest official preliminary data show that the Turkish banking industry posted a net income of TRY 18.75bn (EUR 6.7bn) in the first nine months of the year. Total assets of the banking industry grew 11.4% compared to end-2013 to TRY 1,930bn at the end of September while loans amounted to TRY 1,119bn, representing a 13.4% increase over the same period. There are 50 banks in Turkey, operating through a network of 12,216 branches and 215,718 personnel as of end-September 2014. Last year, Turkish banks’ net income rose 5.1% from 2012, amounting to TRY 24.73bn and this year, the Turkish banking system’s net income is expected to be at the same level as 2013. Turkish banks have managed to weather the global financial crisis well, and they still look healthy with strong capital adequacy ratios and low NPLs.