The General Manager of Kuwait Finance House- Turkey, Ufuk Ewan, announced that the bank has achieved net profit results for the period ending October 31, 2008 that reached YTL 99.4 Million (USD 80 million) with a 60.8% growth rate. He emphasized the stability and leading role of the bank in Turkish Finance and Banking sector during the last 20 years. He mentioned that KFH-Turkey achieved improved margins, higher fee income and increased market share both in deposits and credits. As targeted, he noted that the growth in business volume especially with a diversification of investments both inside and outside Turkey, contributed significantly to improving the returns on activities and ROE targets. He further added that the bank, because of its strict adherence to Sharia’a laws, does not deal with financial derivatives . From his side, Kuwait Finance House Group CEO and KFH-Turkey Chairman, Mohammed Al-Omar said that the profit growth and distinguished indicators reveal the successful plans and combined efforts that are exerted by the executive management team to achieve their goals; they also reveal the fruitful economy and investment environment in which the bank operates, in addition to the trust of its clients. Furthermore, these plans go hand in hand with the expansion efforts, the challenges that face the bank, and the updates in the global banking industry. This is done under the Shariah umbrella, which makes KFH-Turkey the forefront of its market. Moreover, he added that KFH-Turkey, of which KFH holds a 62% share, is attempting to play a vital role in the Turkish banking industry and in the region. This will be done through leading an integrated and well-coordinated role in which each party will benefit the other. On the Turkish side, the bank aims to take first place among the five operating Islamic banks in Turkey, in addition to achieving an advanced status among the other major working banks there. The bank is taking serious strides in that direction, like expanding its number of branches to reach 113 by the end of this year, in addition to expanding in areas that have markets closely tied with Turkey, like Bahrain and Germany. To cement that approach, KFH-Turkey has opened a branch in Bahrain and a representative office in Germany. Al-Omar mentioned that KFH-Turkey strategy focuses on connecting Turkey with the GCC and Kuwait on the one hand, and all these countries with Europe, Central Asia and the Republics of the Russian federation on the other. This is highlighted by Turkey's attempts to join the European Union and its strategic location among the Asian and European countries. Furthermore, he stressed KFH-Turkey’s readiness to offer all forms of support that the Kuwaiti and Arabian Gulf investors need to execute their projects. The total assets for the end of third quarter of this year reached YTL 4.95 billion with a 28% increase over year end of 2007. The shareholders equity increased in the third quarter to 2008 by 71% over the end figures of 2007 to reach YTL 666 million. The clients' deposits reached YTL 3.5 billion by the end of the third quarter, with a 21% increase over the end of 2007.