Halkbank profits rise with loans

Turkish Daily News – Turkish state-run Halkbank, which sold shares in an initial public offering last year, said second-quarter profit rose 15 percent as a result of higher earnings on loans. Net income was YTL 341.3 million ($287 million) in the quarter, compared with YTL 297.8 million a year earlier, the Ankara-based lender said in a statement posted on the website of the Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB). The government announced plans in May to sell another 24 percent of Halkbank this year. It sold 25 percent last year.