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Islamic Lender Bank Asya 2007 Profit Rises 51 Pct | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Bank Asya ASYAB.IS, Turkey’s largest Islamic lender, said on Wednesday its net profit rose 51 percent in 2007 to 221 million lira ($186 million), just below a target of 225 million lira.

Bank Asya, which does not pay or charge interest but shares out part of its profit among depositors, said its assets grew 50 percent to 6.260 billion lira. Funds in its current and profit-sharing accounts rose 47 percent to 4.698 billion lira, it said.

The Islamic banking sector is growing fast in mainly Muslim, European Union candidate Turkey, where economic growth is forecast at around 5 percent this year. Bank Asya said earlier this month its aimed for net profit of 300 million lira in 2008, and asset growth of 40 percent.