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KT Bank received another award at the Islamic Banking Awards. At this year’s ceremony, which went live online from London due to the current Covid-19 situation, KT Bank received an award as “Most Innovative Islamic Retail Bank in Europe 2020”. The Islamic Retail Banking Awards (IRBA), is the first of its kind for Islamic Banking Awards, which has been based on the most rigorous academic analyzes of the global efficiency performance of Islamic banking for the last 6 years. Winners are rigorously assessed by a panel of independent experts based on the efficiency model developed by Cambridge IFA. These prestigious awards honor individuals and institutions who have demonstrated great commitment and made significant contribution to the development, growth and success of Islamic retail banking.

As of July 1, 2020, there is a change of a Management Board Member at KT Bank. Torsten Lüttich, with his broad experience in the financing and international business and in the area of ​​home savings is leaving the bank after years of successful foundation work for the Islamic banking model in the Eurozone. At the official farewell ceremony, Supervisory Board Member Dr. Ruşen Ahmet Albayrak from Turkey thanked Mr. Lüttich via video call on behalf of the mother bank and the entire KT family for the excellent cooperation. There, KT Bank also welcomed the new Managament Board Member Klaus Heimann into the fold. Heimann is taking Lüttich’s position, and with his extensive expertise in financial bank management from auditing and accounting to finance and treasury as well as back office and financial controlling, will help to drive the further development of KT Bank.

KT Bank continues to expand: On February 11, 2020, KT Bank, the first and only bank with an Islam-compliant business model in Germany and in the Euro zone, officially opened its 5^th branch. In addition to Frankfurt, Berlin, Mannheim and Cologne, KT Bank is now also represented in the South of the country in Munich. Located in the best central location in Bavaria’s capital, the new KT Bank branch in Munich offers the complete portfolio of certified Islamic banking products and services for retail, corporate and institutional clients according to ethical banking criteria. In addition to the development of its digital infrastructure, KT Bank places great value on the expansion of its branch network for easily accessible and personal customer service.

Triple international accolade: At the Islamic Retail Banking Awards (IRBA) 2019 on November 04 in Muscat, Oman, KT Bank was awarded “Best Emerging Islamic Retail Bank in Europe” and “Most Innovative Islamic Retail Bank in Europe” as well as honored with the „IRBA Excellence Award“ for its trailblazing dedication towards introducing the Eurozone to Islamic banking. The Islamic Retail Banking Awards IRBA celebrates excellence and best practices in Islamic retail banking. IRBA is the first-of-its-kind Islamic banking awards programme based on the most academically rigorous analysis of global Islamic banking efficiency performance. Winners are rigorously assessed by a panel of independent experts. The awards for KT Bank were received by Ali Bağatır, Private Banking and Wealth Management Group Manager at KT Bank’s mother bank Kuveyt Türk.

KT Bank was awarded for the 3rd consecutive time with the prestigious Global Finance Award 2019 in Washington D. C., this time as ”Best Islamic Financial Institution in Europe“ – alongside the awards for its mother group with Kuveyt Türk as best Islamic financial institution in Turkey and Kuwait Finance House as No 1 in the Middle East. The leading international finance magazine „Global Finance“ awards every year banks and financial institutes around the globe for outstanding achievements.

KT Bank will implement PSD2 by 14th September 2019 to improve its online banking and the mobile banking channels including fund transfers. The two-factor authentication method enhances the security of the online and mobile banking. We have already implemented this method for you by adding a SMS code after entering your customer number and password. In future, there will be a biometric authentication for online card payments. You will be informed in advance. The harmonizing of the payment market focuses on an increased competition and a better technological infrastructure as well as on ensuring an enhanced consumer protection and improved security of payment services.

KT Bank Senior Expert Governance, Risk & Reporting, Ferdi Ilkhan, writes about key performance drivers for Islamic banking in Germany. Read more.

In his review of 2018 and preview of 2019 for Germany in the IFN Annual Guide 2019, KT Bank Chairman Ahmet Kudsi Arslan emphasized the continual and sustainable growth course of Islamic banking with a good prognosis and further developments this year. Read more.

KT Bank hosted the 3rd meeting of the Islamic Finance Task Force with members of the Society of Arabic and Islamic Law (GAIR). Leading economists like Prof. Dr. Volker Nienhaus, Ruhr University Bochum, and legal scholars like Prof. Dr. Matthias Casper, University of Münster, as well as business professionals like Dr. Johannes Engels from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) attended to discuss the newest developments in the area. KT Bank as the sector’s pioneer supports this important ground work concerning the Islamic banking legal practice in Germany and in the Euro area.

This year again, the KFH Group group has been honored in several categories of the Global Finance Awards: Kuwait Finance House (KFH) as “Safest Islamic Bank in the GCC 2018“, Kuveyt Türk Participation Bank as “Best Islamic Bank in Turkey” and KT Bank AG as “Best Islamic Bank in Europe“. The leading international finance magazine „Global Finance“ awards every year banks and financial institutes around the globe for outstanding achievements. The event took place on October 13th 2018 in Bali during the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund IMF and the World Bank Group. The awards were received by Mazin Saad Al-Nahedh, Kuwait Finance House-Group CEO and Ufuk Uyan, CEO of Kuveyt Türk. 

In September 2018, KT Bank is featured across business media with the news of introducing an instalment card that is unique in Germany. Jetzz Card is an automated instalment solution with ethical standards based on the Debit Mastercard and a cost-effective alternative to a conventional instalment credit. See more:

KT Bank AG CEO Ahmet Kudsi Arslan has published a 4-pages guest contribution paper in the half-yearly, official b2b magazine JOIFA-Journal (Journal of Islamic Finance Accountancy) of the AAOIFI Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions, the leading institute for the development and issuance of standards for the global Islamic finance industry. Mr. Arslan gives an “Industry Update” and reports about the pioneering Islamic banking achievement of KT Bank in Germany and in the Eurozone as a player in the ethical banking segment. Read more.

Banking anywhere, anytime – the new KT Mobile Banking App allows clients to do their banking conveniently and securely from their mobile device. Now available for IOS and Android. Further information

“Intelligent and targeted investing into our future“ was the topic of the Convention of the Turkish-German Health Foundation and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung about future perspectives for Hesse and the Rhine-Main region on June 7, 2018 in Frankfurt. Hessian finance minister Dr. Thomas Schäfer MdL presented fiscal guidelines and KT Bank Board Member Torsten Lüttich explained interest-free financing options.

KT Bank was the cooperation and sponsoring partner of the top-class, international conference “Faith & Finance: The Role of Religion and Belief Systems in Modern Economies” which took place on May 4th, 2018 at the Institute for Islamic Studies and Intercultural Cooperation (IFIS&IZ) in Mannheim. The event was conducted in collaboration with the institute’s supporting association Culture House of European Muslims (KUDEM). The speakers, all luminaries in their respective fields, came from all over the world – economics professors and bankers, legal professionals, ethics experts, as well as entrepreneurs and representatives of regulatory authorities. They exclusively informed a distinguished audience about the latest developments in the faith-based and ethical banking sector and their impact on todays’ financial markets. As first and only bank in Germany with sharia-compliant finance products, KT Bank supported this pioneering event which provided Islamic banking in a European context with a scientific base for the first time. In the end, everybody agreed: Religious finance concepts like Islamic banking can be drivers for a change of culture in the global economy!

The event series “Ethical-ecological money management” of the organization Umwelt-Akademie e.V. in cooperation with „Geld mit Sinn e.V.“ had Islamic banking as its theme – under the motto “The country needs different banks“ – and had invited KT Bank to hold the keynote speech about its Islam-compliant business model and economically applied Islamic-ethical values. The KT Islamic Compliance Department explained the social sustainability aspect of interest-free financing and presented Islamic banking as progressive alternative for the Euro area.

On February 1, 2018, at the Round Table „Islamic Finance“ of Frankfurt Economic Development, KT Bank AG presented the principles and the business model of Islamic banking in front of 50 hand-picked guests, mainly representatives of banks, asset funds and family offices. The audience came together in the grand hotel Hessischer Hof to learn more about the potential of Islamic banking in Germany and in the Eurozone. For the pioneer in this segment, KT Bank AG, the event was a further positive step concerning the participation in the German business community.

In January 2018, KT Bank AG is featured across leading German-speaking news and business media with an article based on an interview with German Press Agency DPA, which reports about KT Bank’s successful growth course and the potential of Islamic banking in the Euro area. Article example.

KT Bank Chairman Ahmet Kudsi Arslan contributed to the Islamic Finance news Annual Guide 2018. Read more.

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has signed a bilateral cooperation agreement with KT Bank AG, the first bank in Germany and in the Eurozone with Islamic business model, in terms of Euro Vostro Account Services. From now on, KT Bank provides Euro clearing and settlement services for KFH, one of the foremost Islamic financial institutions in the world, and main shareholder of KT’s mother bank Kuveyt Türk Katılım Bankası A.Ş. With the signature of the Vostro account agreement, Kuwait Finance House, Kuveyt Türk and KT Bank AG, jointly renowned to be the driving pioneers of Islamic banking in the Eurozone, are moving even closer together as a group. KT Bank AG as a direct member of Target 2 and SEPA payment schemes, provides Clearing and Settlement Services in Euro currency to financial institutions and automatically routes all incoming and outgoing Euro payments all over the world according to EU standards. Group Chief Treasury Officer at KFH, AbdulWahab Al Roshood said: “With the launch of KT Bank via our subsidiary Kuveyt Türk in the year 2015, KFH has become strongly invested in Germany. Now we are also able to use KT Bank as our Euro clearer which provides added value for the whole group.” KT Bank’s Chairman of the Management Board Ahmet Kudsi Arslan emphasizes: “With creating such correspondent banking synergies within our group, we strengthen our overall market position in the Euro area.”

Faith and finance: KT Bank AG‘s Chairman Ahmet Kudsi Arslan explains in a special supplement of Börsen-Zeitung on the issue, why Islamic banking with its universally ethical principles enhances conventional economic systems. Read more.

Last weekend in Washington D. C., KT Bank was awarded for its pioneer efforts in the Islamic banking sector with the prestigious Global Finance Award as „Global Best Up-And-Coming Islamic Financial Institution 2017“. The leading international finance magazine „Global Finance“ awards every year banks and financial institutes around the globe for outstanding achievements. The Award was received by Mazin Saad Al-Nahedh, Kuwait Finance House-Group CEO, to which KT Bank belongs, in the National Press Club USA. Kuwait Finance House was itself awarded “Best Islamic Project Finance Provider in the World 2017”. The Global Finance Award took place during the meetings of the International Monetary Fund IMF and the World Bank from 9-15 October.

The KT Bank’s Cologne branch is now officially open for customers. The opening of the branch, which is strategically placed in the DITIB (Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs) Central Mosque complex, marks another milestone in the bank’s stable business development. The festive opening ceremony was embedded in the annual “Day of Open Mosques” and concurred with the opening of the DITIB shopping arcade by the DITIB board and the Mayor of Cologne, Henriette Reker.

 

The arcade is an attractive meeting spot for both mosque visitors and the people of Cologne. From Islamic prayer supplies and halal restaurants to KT bank’s shariah-compliant banking products, it features all kinds of goods, products and cuisine in accordance with the ethics of Islam.

 

“The potential for Islamic banking in Northrhine-Westphalia (NRW) is large, considering our main target group of Turkish Muslims“, says KT Bank’s Chairman of the Management Board Ahmet Kudsi Arslan. „With 1.5 million, NRW has the largest Muslim population in Germany and the almost 950,000 people of Turkish descent make up the largest immigrant group in NRW. Furthermore, important Turkish and German-Turkish entrepreneurs associations, Muslim religious societies, charity organizations and the most mosque communities can be found here.”

 

The rush of visitors on the “Day of the Open Mosque” and the DITIB shopping arcade opening was enormous – more than 6,000 guests of all faiths and backgrounds flocked to the building complex of the DITIB Central Mosque, and many of them acquainted themselves about Islamic banking at the KT bank‘s information booth in front of the branch.

 

Arslan continues: “In the Cologne branch, we offer our complete portfolio of certified Islamic banking products and services for retail, corporate and institutional clients – without interest-bearing moneylending, but rather asset-backed and thus supporting the real economy, compliant with our ethical criteria. We offer free-of-charge current accounts without overdraft, profitable investment opportunities based on the principle of profit-sharing, real estate financing, instalment loans, investment loans for business resources and much more. At our opening, we were also visited by numerous non-Muslims – we can and wish to be an ethical local bank for all customers in NRW.” 

With the completion of its infrastructural establishment phase, KT Bank AG maintains its growth course in 2017 since its operative market entry in July 2015.

 

Key achievements

A diverse and innovative financial product and services portfolio for retail and corporate clients has been implemented successfully, adhering to cutting-edge technological standards.

 

All products are endorsed with Islamic Compliance Certificates.

 

KT Bank AG’s total asset size has doubled from end of 2015 until end of 2016.

 

KT Bank AG’s portfolio also includes Islamic banking products and services for institutional clients, like Euro account and clearing services.

 

The first step of direct banking has been established by implementing an online account opening system.

 

Ufuk Uyan, Chairman of KT Bank AG’s Supervisory Board, Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board at the mother bank Kuveyt Türk Participation Bank in Istanbul, announces further growth: „In 2017, KT Bank AG expects another 80 per cent increase in assets. We have a strong background – the mother bank Kuveyt Türk is the largest Islamic bank in Turkey. We are backed by the Kuwait Finance House, one of the foremost Islamic financial institutions on the globe. Yet we could not have done this pioneer effort alone. The German regulatory authorities have been very cooperative during our challenging implementation of this new business model. Key political and business players in the Eurozone have embraced that Islamic banking can contribute to a stable and ethical financial market in Western economies.”

 

New CEO end of April 2017

KT Bank AG will also have a new CEO in the near future. Kemal Ozan, Islamic banker „of the first hour“, who led the KT Bank AG’s foundation project since August 2012 and, since its market entry in March 2015, heads the bank as CEO and Chairman of the Management Board, will „hand over the flag“ end of April 2017 to his fellow KT Bank AG board member Ahmet Kudsi Arslan who then will be appointed CEO.

 

Ufuk Uyan: „Kemal Ozan has played an important role in the development phase of KT Bank AG in the Eurozone with his expertise and experience. We thank him for his support and commitment.“

 

Kemal Ozan: „With the completion of the establishment phase of KT Bank AG, I have accomplished my mission. I am immensely proud to have been able to contribute substantially to such an important project and will now take on new challenges.“

 

Ahmet Kudsi Arslan, who has already been part of the mother bank Kuveyt Türk in several leading position since two decades, is looking forward to a successful 2017: „KT Bank AG is today in a very good place, with a total of 70 employees, four branches and a steady influx of client inquiries. We will continue to grow, with the support of the Turkish and Muslim communities, our German clients who are interested in „Socially responsible investing“ (SRI) and our strong mother company.“

KT Bank AG expands its Management Board effective immediately. KT Bank AG’s Deputy CEO Ahmet Kudsi Arslan has been appointed a Board Member on January 01, 2017.   Ahmed Kudsi Arslan is KT Bank AG’s experienced Islamic banker from Turkey. Since two decades, Arslan has been part of Kuveyt Türk in several leading positions, e. g. in the wealth management and private banking and in the corporate & commercial credit management divisions, as branch manager, marketing coordination supervisor and financial analysts. Under the leadership of the KT Bank AG Chairman of the Management Board, Kemal Ozan, and together with Board Member Torsten Lüttich, Arslan is looking forward to a successful 2017. By adding this new Board Member, the KT Bank AG maintains its growth course in 2017 since its operative market launch in July 2015. The diverse product portfolio of KT Bank AG includes comprehensive financial products and services according to the ethical, sustainable and transparent Islamic banking principles for retail and corporate clients and found a ready market of interested clients, media and general public.

Customers of KT Bank AG can get cash at no charge at more than 4,100 Netto Marken-Discount Stores in Germany. Click here for further information.

The KT Current Account now comes with a free account change service. For customers who open a KT current account we cancel their old account with a different bank and transfer it to their new KT Current Account. Learn more

The free KT Current Account comes with many advantages: no account maintenance charges, free Maestro EC Card and free online banking. Customers who open an account until July 31, 2016, get free remittances to Turkey!

Opening a KT account is fast and easy with the new video identification for personal computer, tablet or smartphone. Learn more

The German media raises public awareness for a huge market gap: with more than 4 million Muslims living and growing old in Germany, specific retirement provision concepts are urgently required. The KT Bank AG contributes with its real estate financing concept according to Islamic banking principles.

In a regional TV broadcast around KT Bank AG’s branch in Mannheim, the bank and its business model of Islamic banking is featured as an important player for the German economy and the integration of Germany’s multicultural society.

The German media reports about the market development of religious investments and announces the top perfomance of Islamic funds with a plus of 7.6 % during the last 10 years.

EURO FINANCE WEEK (EFW) is the largest industry meeting in Europe for banks, stock exchanges, insurance and financial services. On the first day of the EFW, the KT Bank AG and Maleki Group invite high-level international participants to the Islamic Finance Conference to discuss Islamic banking as progressive alternative for Western economies.

The leading German business magazines „Börsen-Zeitung“ and „Das Investment“ declare that Islamic banking has substantial potential in Germany due to the millions of Muslims living in Germany and the G20 summit putting Islamic banking on the world map.

„Islamic financing instruments are of growing significance in the global economy“, stated the German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble according to sources at the G20 summit in Ankara. International financial institutions should increasingly occupy themselves to integrate such models into the worldwide financing structure, according to the minister.

WebTV broadcast about KT Bank AG’s operation in Germany. Watch it

Interview with KT Bank’s CEO in MGCC Perspectives, the Business Magazine of the Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. More

Read more about the opening at international media. 

Stiftung Warentest, the German consumer organisation and foundation involved in investigating and comparing goods and services in an unbiased way, introduces the KT Bank AG and the Islamic banking model in their finance magazine.

The market entry of the KT Bank AG makes international headlines: The launch of Germany’s first Islamic bank is big news in the Eurozone and in international top news and business media in March and April 2015: More than 1,000 publications cover the news and pave the way for an increased public awareness of Islamic banking.

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Kuveyt Türk Participation Bank has been licensed by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) to offer banking services in Germany. Thus, the first bank based on an interest-free Islamic business model is licensed in Germany. Kuveyt Türk has obtained its license from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) to provide fully-fledged banking services in Germany according to the interest-free Islamic banking principles. Kuveyt Türk is the first Islamic bank that has been fully licensed to operate its deposit and loan business in Germany. With this license, Kuveyt Türk is the pioneer that introduces the Islamic banking model in Germany.