Garanti BBVA has appointed Mahmut Akten as its new Chief Executive Officer and BBVA Country Manager for Turkey, subject to approval from the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency. Akten, who currently serves as Head of Corporate, Investment Banking and Global Markets at the bank, will succeed Recep Baştuğ, who is stepping down after more than thirty years with the organisation. BBVA announced the appointment on 2 August 2024, framing the change as a carefully planned leadership transition at one of Turkey's largest and most profitable private banks.
Garanti BBVA, in which Spain's BBVA holds a controlling stake, occupies a central position in the Turkish banking landscape, operating a large retail network alongside significant corporate, investment banking, and global markets franchises. The selection of Akten as the incoming CEO is notable for its internal character: rather than seeking an external candidate, BBVA and the Garanti board identified a sitting senior executive with deep familiarity with the bank's culture, client base, and regulatory environment as the appropriate successor to a long-serving leader.
AKTEN BRINGS CORPORATE AND MARKETS EXPERTISE
Mahmut Akten's professional background in corporate banking, investment banking, and global markets positions him to navigate an operating environment in Turkey that remains demanding. Turkish corporates have required sophisticated banking support to manage the effects of elevated domestic interest rates, currency volatility, and the associated demand for trade finance, hedging, and structured lending solutions. Akten's direct experience in the wholesale banking and capital markets divisions of Garanti BBVA means he has been dealing with precisely these client challenges in a senior capacity ahead of assuming the top role.
The internal succession is also strategically coherent from the perspective of BBVA's broader Turkey strategy. Garanti BBVA has been a standout performer within BBVA's international portfolio, with its Turkish franchise contributing meaningfully to the group's consolidated revenues and profits. Continuity of institutional knowledge and client relationships at the CEO level is valued in this context, and an executive who has managed key client relationships and led a major business division provides that continuity more readily than an external appointment would allow.
BAŞTUĞ DEPARTS AFTER MORE THAN 30 YEARS
Recep Baştuğ's tenure of more than three decades spans an era of extraordinary transformation in Turkish banking, encompassing the sector's severe crisis in 2001, the subsequent restructuring and recapitalisation programme, the rapid credit-led growth of the 2000s, and multiple subsequent cycles of macroeconomic and currency stress. His departure marks the end of a notably long period of leadership continuity at Garanti BBVA, a stability that is relatively unusual in a banking market that has seen considerable executive turnover across other major institutions.
The formal appointment of Akten remains contingent on clearance from the BRSA, which is required to conduct a fit and proper assessment of proposed senior executives at Turkish deposit-taking institutions before any appointment can take effect. BBVA said in its announcement that it expects the regulatory approval process to proceed normally and without material delay. Until that clearance is formally granted by the BRSA, Baştuğ remains in post, ensuring continuity of leadership and client management through the transition period.