BNP Paribas takes major stake in Turk bank TEB
ISTANBUL (AFP) – The French bank BNP Paribas has taken a 50 percent stake in a TEB Mali, which owns 84.25 percent of the Turkish bank Turk Ekonomi Bankasi (TEB), the parent company said yesterday. The shares were transferred to BNP Paribas Thursday under an agreement reached by the two sides in November, TEB Mali said in a statement. It did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. BNP Paribas had said in November it would pay around $217 million for the stake, but said the ultimate amount would be determined at the time of the handover. TEB is the 10th-largest private bank in Turkey in terms of assets and has one of the highest ratings by international agencies among Turkish banks. The bank has around 80 branches and employs about 2,000 people.
