GSD Group in Brief

GSD Holding was founded in 1996 to coordinate and oversee the activities of the GSD Group of companies, whose roots go back to 1986 and to help establish a common corporate culture across the organization. Gathering under its roof some of Turkey's premier financial institutions, GSD Holding today has TL 2.4 billion in total consolidated assets and TL 481 million in total consolidated shareholders' equity.

In addition to foreign trade-related services via GSD Foreign Trade, the GSD Group is active in almost all areas of financial services: Banking with Tekstilbank and GSD Bank, financial leasing with Tekstil Leasing, domestic and international factoring with Tekstil Factoring, investment banking and capital market brokerage services with Tekstil Securities, off-shore banking with The Euro Textile International Banking Unit Ltd. and international financial services with GSD International Limited. Additionally, aware of its social responsibilities, the GSD Group is active in philanthropic activities through GSD Educational Foundation building schools across the country.

The GSD Group's growth strategy is based on providing financial and other support services to commercial activity, rather than competing in industrial production. It has adopted a prudent management approach, giving priority to growth by equity rather than through borrowing. Therefore, sustainable profitability is the main pillar of the Group's investment strategy. In its investments, the Group attaches priority to specialization over diversification, thus allowing resources to be channeled into businesses where strategic strength and expertise can be accumulated.

GSD Holding is responsible for establishing major operational guidelines and setting the standards for enterprise risk management and corporate governance. It is a strong advocate of the concepts of customer focus and higher service quality in all business lines. This philosophy is effectively communicated to all its subsidiaries and affiliates and unwavering adherence to these tenets is expected from all Group companies and staff members.

At the end of 2009, the GSD Group's consolidated assets amounted to TL 2.4 billion, 94% of which was accounted for by subsidiary banks' assets. Banking created 55% of the Group's total consolidated net profit in 2009.

Maximizing shareholders' value has always been an indispensable goal for the GSD Group. GSD Holding believes that maintaining a satisfactory return on equity is the real measure of its performance. Nearly all of GSD Holding shares have been publicly traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) since 1999, which makes GSD Holding a truly public company.