Garanti launches three-year share buyback program from November 4
Key Facts
Turkey’s Garanti Bank announced that it will begin a share buyback program on November 4, 2026, which will run for three years, according to a company disclosure published via the KAP platform and relaying the bank’s statement to Turkey’s Public Disclosure Platform. The decision sets an extended timeframe for purchases, but the available disclosure does not specify how many shares will be bought or the pace of execution. The bank said the program aims to demonstrate confidence in its financial strength, ability to generate sustainable profits and potential to create long-term value. It added that its goals include protecting shareholders’ interests and helping the share price better reflect the bank’s fundamentals. The available disclosure did not provide a verified figure for the program’s value.
Execution will begin on November 4, according to the wording of the statement, while the program will run for three years. This means the announcement sets the initiative’s start date and timeframe without providing, in the quoted text, a schedule for periodic purchases or a financial cap. The available statement also does not include figures for the number of shares targeted for purchase or the price the company may pay. The bank linked the initiative to its stated goals of financial strength and sustainable profitability, not to specific expectations for the share price. The available disclosure did not cite an immediate effect on trading or an expected financial outcome from the program.
The bank said the buyback demonstrates “our confidence in the strength of our financial structure, our sustainable profitability and our potential to create long-term value.” This explanation presents the initiative as part of the company’s message to shareholders about its ability to continue generating profits and value, according to the statement. The bank also cited protecting shareholders’ interests among the program’s aims. It said the purchases are intended to help the share price better reflect the bank’s fundamentals. The statement provided no quantitative measure of this effect, timeline for assessing it or detail linking the program to a specific share-price level.
The announcement comes as comments by Garanti Chief Executive Mahmut Akten indicated that lower funding costs in the second half of the third quarter, together with active balance-sheet management, improved the net interest margin and supported continued growth in profitability. Akten said the bank “recorded a marked improvement in net interest margin, and we continued to increase our profitability” thanks to lower funding costs and effective balance-sheet management. The comment provides background on factors the bank said supported its performance, but does not identify the improvement as the reason for launching the buyback program. The program announcement provided no numerical comparison of the interest margin or profits across the two periods. The link between the decision and these developments therefore remains within the context the bank gave about its financial strength and profitability.
At the parent-group level, BBVA’s shareholder report said net profit attributable to Turkey reached 789 million euros in the period from January to September 2026, up 60.1% year on year at constant exchange rates. Loans and advances managed for customers also rose 24.5% between the end of December 2025 and September 2026. These figures provide a picture of the group’s business performance in Turkey during the first nine months of the year, including growth in profit and credit. They relate to BBVA’s operations in Turkey, as reported by the group, and are not the value or an outcome of Garanti’s buyback program. The shareholder report did not state that these figures measure the impact of the announced program.
On the group’s capital distribution policy, BBVA’s report said the policy allows for a combination of cash distributions and share buybacks, subject to obtaining the required mandates and approvals. The report cited a separate share buyback program with a total value of 2 billion euros in 2026, structured in two tranches of 1 billion euros each. The first tranche began on August 5, while the second began on October 14. This initiative relates to the parent group’s program and does not represent the value of the Turkish Garanti program announced to begin in November. It provides context on the group’s use of buybacks as part of its shareholder remuneration policy, while the two programs differ in scope, currency and timing.
Garanti said it will present the buyback program to shareholders for their information at the next general meeting. It also plans to recommend at the first general meeting held after the program ends that the shares it has repurchased be canceled. The decision process therefore includes presenting the initiative to shareholders, then making a recommendation on the fate of the purchased shares after the execution period ends. The disclosure did not specify the date of the next general meeting or the number of shares that could be canceled. The final recommendation, according to the statement, will be put to the general meeting after the three-year period has elapsed.