Bancherul - BANCI / ENGLISH / GE Capital sells its investment in Romanian joint venture to Garanti Bank

Bucharest, Romania (December 16, 2010): GE Capital and Turkiye Garanti Bankasi A.S (’Garanti Bank’) announced today changes in the shareholder structure of their Romanian joint venture.

GE Capital has sold its 26.7% stake in the joint venture to Garanti Bank who becomes the 100% owner of the Romanian businesses comprising of the regulated Garanti Bank and the GE Money branded specialized financial companies.

Dmitri Stockton, President of GE Capital Global Banking said, “The joint venture with Garanti in Romania has been successful and I am immensely proud of the team’s efforts to date.

The rationale to divest our shareholding is based on the overall GE
strategy to increase investment in core industrial businesses including infrastructure and technology, while remaining fully committed to a smaller, more focused GE Capital.”

Ergun Ozen, President & CEO of Garanti Bank added that this transaction reinforced Garanti’s commitment to the Romanian market. “There will be no change regarding the strategy and vision going forward. We believe that by transferring our strengths
in product innovation, client service and technology, we are building a unique and successful banking group in Romania.”

Garanti Banking Group in the Romanian market has reached 1.5 bn Euros in assets, and the bank registered an increase in assets of 50% in 2010 vs. the previous year, with a strong performance in both deposits and loans.

The Romanian operations will all operate under the Garanti brand as of January 2011.

Cristian Colteanu, GE Regional Executive for Romania said, “GE remains committed to Romania. We will continue to provide solutions for energy, technology, water and healthcare infrastructure projects, helping address local challenges and needs. In addition, we remain an important player in the community, investing in educational programs designed to develop the leadership and entrepreneurial skills of the young generation. We have proved to be a reliable partner for Romania and will continue to be over time.”

About Garanti Bank

Garanti Bank is the second largest-private bank in Turkey with US$87.3 billion in assets as of September 30, 2010. Garanti provides retail, commercial, corporate and private banking services to over 9.7 million customers and operates 862 branches.
For more information, please visit www.garanti.com.tr