“Four new projects coming in 2007”

Hüsnü Özyeğin is one of the most important businessmen Turkey has produced over the last 20 years… He was successful first as a professional executive and then raised this success to a new level when he established his own bank. Within 20 years he transformed a bank with US$8 million in capital into one worth US$5.6 billion. After he sold the bank to NBG of Greece everyone was watching him and waiting to see what he would do. Now he has new businesses in his sights. Hüsnü Özyeğin says: “We shall realize three to four new projects in 2007. But I am not thinking of founding a new bank as a rival to Finansbank.”

One of the businessmen who was most talked about in 2006 was Hüsnü Özyeğin and this meant that he was chosen as ‘Businessman of the Year’ in the survey by Ekonomist magazine. Over a period of 20 years, starting in the business with US$8 million in capital he created a giant bank in addition to other companies. He attracted considerable attention when he sold Finansbank, which he describe as ‘being part of himself’ and which had a market value of US$5.6 billion to NBG of Greece. Hüsnü Özyeğin, who created a genuine super success story in going from ‘nothing to the top’, is upbeat as he prepares for the future. He plans to divert half of the cash he generated through the sale of the bank into new investments. His calculations do not include any plans to create a rival to Finansbank. He plans to announce his new projects in the months ahead.

The Fiba Group’s interests in retailing, housing, energy development and banking abroad are run by his son Murat Özyeğin and his daughter Ayşecan Özyeğin. Hüsnü Özyeğin spoke with Capital about his success story and his targets for the future.

* The sale of Finansbank was completed in 2006. What was your target there, why did you sell it?
Finansbank was growing by 50 percent every year and the sector by 30 percent. Capital was needed for that additional 20 percent. The reason is as simple as that.
The banks abroad were also growing very rapidly and capital was needed there as well. I mean, there was no capital to support the growth either domestically or abroad. For this reason, I decided to sell the bank to a group which would be able to make the most of it.

* You created a bank from nothing in 20 years. It is a genuine success story. What was the secret of this success?
I think the most important thing was starting with a young team. I aimed to create the bank of the future with a young team which knew banking. I started off with well-educated young people from good families. They later also recruited more good young people to the bank. This developed into a strategy and we were continuously taking good young people from universities.

I chose a team and I wanted to establish a bank of the future. Members of good families in Turkey, who had studied at good schools and who would serve in the higher echelons of Finansbank, not just as good bankers but as good administrators.

The bank was characterized by both good discipline and close friendship. You cannot see this in any other bank. Corporate banking, retail banking, SMSE banking and others. We would frequently all come together and go to Antalya or to Uludağ and enjoy ourselves. We used to meet on weekends. We used to go to dinner together. I think this played an important role in our success.

A 21 year old who enters Finansbank today can sit down to eat with an assembly board chairman or a general manager. This is an important culture. Here everybody knows that they can access the high level management. I mean, as we got bigger we did not become more distant from each other.

* It is said that you will establish another bank and that there are many new projects..
I shall not establish any bank as a rival to Finansbank in Turkey. After Finansbank it would not give me any satisfaction to enter the banking business again in Turkey. Because we established such a wonderful corporation.

* But you will continue aboard, won’t you? For example, a new bank is being established in Kazakhstan, isn’t it?
Yes, we recently applied for a permit.

* Where do you see the most important potential in Turkey?
There are investment opportunities in many areas. Tourism, shipbuilding, real estate, industry, energy, retailing, the automotive industry, gold processing, the marble industry. I could have named more. I see Turkey as Italy was 15 years ago. Whatever was done there over the last 15 years will also be done in Turkey.
But I am not now thinking of going outside my own areas. I won’t go into a business which I do not know.

* You announced that you would invest half of the money generated by the sale of Finansbank. Have you reached a decision yet in this regard? Where will you make investments?
We have not reached a definite decision yet. Even the largest groups in the world take 4-5 months to make their decisions. We are still at the initial stages. But we shall launch 3-4 new projects in 2007. It is not easy to start a new business.

The Latest Situation Of Hüsnü Özyeğin’s Businesses

Bank In Ukraıne
Work is continuing. Oktay from the Netherlands has been apppointed to head the bank and has begun work. The bank will concentrate primarily on foreign trade financing and then will also enter retail banking.

Other Banks
 The banking sectors in Romania and Russia are growing at 30-35 percent, the same as in Turkey. Our target is to grow by even more.

Enterprıse Capital
We have a company called Fiba Capital. But at the moment it is not a company which complies with CMB regulations. Fiba Capital is looking at our investments there.

Shipbuilding
 We have some intitiatives in shipbuilding. We are not ready to announce the details yet but we shall build a chemicals tanker in a 50-50 agreement with a respected firm.

Innovation
Can Paker is bringing together 15 businessmen and establishing an innovation company. We are also participating. They will concentrate primarily on venture capital.

Housing
We have bought a very large plot of land in Alemdağ. It could be a concept project, like a town. But work is continuing and will continue for about one year.

Retailing
We are continuing with Marks & Spencer. We are talking with Lee Fayette of France about bringing them to Turkey. They are thinking about Turkey but in 2008. 

Swiss Otel
It has been a good investment. It has a very good management structure. That is the reason we bought it. But if there is such an opportunity in Antalya I won’t take it. There are two reasons for this. The first is that, as a bank, we supported tourism a lot. We don’t want to compete with our own customers. The second is that we don’t know the business and have no knowledge, no management cadre which could run a tourism business.