POSSESSING A STRONG PREDICTION CAPABILITY AND MARKET PERCEPTION, İŞ LEASING SUSTAINS ITS PIONEERING ROLE IN THE SECTOR WITH ITS PROACTIVE MARKETING AND SALES POLICIES AND EFFICIENT CREDIT AND RISK MANAGEMENT.

Dear Stakeholders,

Before presenting for your approval the annual report, financial statements and net profit distribution proposal, which provide a summary of the 2017 performance of İş Leasing and which have been drawn up in accordance with the Capital Market Law and applicable legislation, I would like to give an overview of the world and national economy, and make a brief assessment of the leasing sector, and the position of İş Leasing.

After the major central banks in the world led by the Fed and the European Central Bank introduced monetary policies seeking to revive economic activity, their turnabout in expansionary monetary policies and normalization steps became evident in 2017. The rising growth performance primarily in the US and in the EU produced an above-expectations global growth, in spite of transformed monetary policies, geopolitical risks tainting various regions of the world, and the complications in the political arena. The fact that the economic revival experienced in 2017 was driven both by developed and emerging countries shows that a threshold has been crossed in terms of global balances.

It is predicted that capital flows to emerging countries, which gained momentum in 2017, could continue provided that interest rates remain low, and that the recovery in global economy, led by emerging economies, would carry on in the coming period despite China’s relatively decelerated performance.

The Turkish economy displayed a solid performance in 2017, stimulated also by the incentives that supported economic activity and by the Credit Guarantee Fund (KGF) scheme in particular, and grew 7.4% in the first three quarters of the year. Growth rate for the full year is also estimated around 7%. In spite of the growth performance, investment decisions were postponed because of increased risk premium as a result of ongoing chaos and conflicts in the Middle East. Loss of value the Turkish currency suffered against the developed countries’ currencies in 2017 reflected negatively on the private sector’s investment appetite and our sector’s business volume.

Following the contraction in 2016, the leasing sector adopted a flat course in 2017 and registered a transaction volume of USD 6.2 billion with a performance close to that of the previous year. Throughout the year, development continued in the construction industry, one of the engines of the leasing sector, and growth in the first three quarters closed in on 10%. Rather propelled by consumption outlays, economic growth began receiving contribution from machinery and equipment investments from the third quarter of the year, instilling hope in the sector as it harbingers revival in private sector investments.

Possessing a strong prediction capability and market perception, İş Leasing sustains its pioneering role in the sector with its proactive marketing and sales policies and efficient credit and risk management, and fosters its position year after year with its solid financial structure and funding ability.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and myself, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our stakeholders who made our 2017 performance and achievements possible.

Murat Bilgiç
Chairman of the Board of Directors