Frequently Asked Questions

Corporate finance refers to a set of financial advisory and structuring services that help companies manage their capital structure, meet funding needs, and execute value-creating strategic decisions. The scope of corporate finance services — also called corporate finance advisory — is broad and includes capital increases, initial public offerings (IPOs), M&A advisory, debt refinancing, syndicated loans, securitization, leveraged buyouts (LBOs), and corporate restructuring.

Project finance is a long-term funding model in which repayment relies primarily on the cash flows and assets of the financed project itself rather than on the sponsor company's balance sheet. The structure is largely non-recourse to the sponsor. In Turkiye, project finance Turkiye is most commonly used in energy project finance (wind, solar/GES, hydroelectric, natural gas), infrastructure project finance (roads, bridges, airports), and healthcare and industrial investments. A useful comparison for newcomers is project finance vs corporate finance — the former isolates the project as a standalone entity, the latter funds the company as a whole.

Working capital finance is the short-term funding companies use to meet day-to-day operational cash needs. Common instruments include the revolving credit facility, spot loan, non-cash credit facilities such as bank guarantees and letter of credits, factoring finance, supply chain finance, bill discounting (cheques/notes), and short-term export finance. For broader context on the underlying concept, see what is working capital. These tools collectively sit under the umbrella of trade finance.

The investment bank vs commercial bank distinction comes down to who they serve and how they fund themselves. Unlike deposit (commercial) banks, investment banking institutions do not take retail deposits or extend consumer/SME loans. Commercial banks gather deposits from individuals and use them to lend to retail and SME customers. Investment banks specialise in capital-markets transactions (bond and bill issuance, IPO underwriting), M&A advisory, project finance, and corporate finance advisory for corporate clients. For a fuller primer, see what is investment banking. Turkiye's Banking Law recognises this distinction explicitly: investment and development banks are regulated by the BDDK (Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency) as a separate category.

Yes. Investment banks do not provide retail loans, but they offer a wide range of credit products to corporate clients, including project finance, investment loans, working capital facilities, acquisition financing, syndicated loans and club loans, plus leasing finance. Nurol Bank serves corporate clients through products such as project and investment finance, revolving credit facilitys and spot loans.

No. Under Turkiye's Banking Law, investment and development banks cannot accept deposits from individuals. Their funding mix is built from shareholder equity, credit lines from domestic and international institutions, and the issuance of capital-markets instruments such as bank bonds, eurobonds, and sukuk (lease certificates). Because of this, products offered by investment banks are not covered by TMSF deposit insurance — product-level protections and risk structures work differently from a retail savings account.

Investment banks are primarily oriented toward corporate clients. However, certain investment banks serve private banking high net worth individuals through a dedicated private banking arm, offering portfolio management, eurobonds, mutual funds, derivatives and bespoke financial planning. Nurol Bank delivers these services through its Private Banking unit.

Although Turkiye's BDDK groups them under one regulatory category, investment banks and development banks differ in function. Development banks exist to provide long-term investment loans to priority sectors and support economic development (e.g., TSKB, Türkiye Kalkınma ve Yatırım Bankası). Investment banks focus on capital-markets transactions, IPOs, M&A advisory and corporate finance advisory. In practice many Turkish investment banks — NurolBank included — combine both roles: providing investment finance and offering capital-markets products.

An IPO (Initial Public Offering) is the process by which a company offers its shares to the public for the first time and lists them on a stock exchange — in Turkiye, on Borsa Istanbul. An IPO provides equity financing to the issuer while also bringing institutionalisation, brand visibility, liquidity for existing shareholders, and improved reputation. For a deeper primer see what is an IPO. The process is run by a lead investment bank / underwriter under Capital Markets Board (SPK) regulations.

The IPO process usually unfolds in five stages: (1) Decision and preparation — board decision, appointment of the lead investment bank, drafting the prospectus; (2) Regulatory approval — submission to SPK and the exchange, audit reports, due diligence M&A-style review; (3) Pricing and marketing — company valuation, price range setting, roadshow IPO with institutional investors; (4) Book-building and allocation — book building IPO with institutional and retail demand, then share allocation on an equal-weight or proportional basis; (5) Listing and trading — admission to Borsa Istanbul and the start of secondary-market trading.

Through an IPO a company gains access to cost-efficient equity financing; accelerates its institutionalisation; raises brand awareness and reputation; creates liquidity for existing shareholders; can introduce share-based incentive plans (ESOPs) for employees; and lands on the radar of international investors. In return, it takes on heavier transparency, reporting and investor relations obligations.

As lead or joint lead manager, the investment bank handles prospectus drafting, SPK submissions, company valuation, price range determination, roadshow IPO organisation, book building IPO / demand gathering, IPO underwriting and share allocation. Post-listing, the bank can also support market making and investor relations.

Companies and banks can issue bonds and notes — domestically or internationally — to meet financing needs, subject to SPK approval. In a corporate bond issuance, the investment bank acts as lead arranger / advisor, determining the issue size and maturity, pricing the instrument, preparing the prospectus and issuance documents, handling SPK and CSD (VAP/MKK) registration, and running the bond issuance process — including book-building and sales to institutional investors.

A private banking client, who has a specific amount of assets, is offered to benefit tailor-made banking products and advices according to his/her risk tolerance.

Bills and Bonds, Eurobond, Mutual Funds, Forward Contract, Swap are some of products that private banking portfolio managers use to assess their clients’ assets.

1: Commercial Bills and Private Sector Bonds are debt securities issued by banks or joint-stock companies to fulfill their financing needs. They may be issued as discounted/zero-coupon bonds or as coupon bearing bonds. The investor investing in Private Sector Bonds and Commercial Bills further assume the default risk of the issuer company.

Commercial Bills and Private Sector Bonds can be further traded in the secondary market.

2: Treasury Bills and Government Bonds are Government Domestic Borrowing Securities (GDBS) issued by Republic of Turkey Undersecretariat of Treasury. GDBSs with a maturity date less than 1 year are defined as Treasury Bills and the ones with a maturity date of 1 year or more are defined as Government Bonds. They can be further traded in the secondary market before maturity.

Eurobond is generally a long-term debt instrument offered for sale, suitable for investors who want to invest their savings in foreign currency in the long term. Because they are long-term bonds, Eurobonds can be issued as coupon. These are debt instruments issued abroad by states and companies, generally in USD and EUR, in order to obtain financing from foreign countries.

There are investment portfolios involving different capital market instruments such as repo, debentures and stock certificates. Mutual funds can be converted into cash easily and quickly. Value date may be applied for trading some investment funds.

Forward contracts are the legally binding commitments stipulating the purchase or sale of a specific commodity at a future date at a predetermined price and quantity. For this reason, the transaction, maturity and amount can be determined according to needs.

It is a forward transaction aimed at managing exchange rate risks and obligations should be fulfilled at maturity.

Swap transactions, which are used by individuals and institutions aiming to manage cash flow and interest liabilities, are binding contracts that include mutual commitments of two parties to make payments to each other at certain periods. The definition of the assets that will exchanged, the fixed or variable interest rate to be applied, and the payment dates should be specified in the relevant contract.

These are forward transactions that allow the purchase/sale of an underlying asset determined on the transaction date, to be exchanged at a future date at a price determined on the transaction date. An Options Contract involves two parties: the option holder and the option writer. The Option Holder obtains a right to carry out the relevant purchase or sale transaction in return for the Option Premium paid. The Option Writer assumes the obligation to carry out the relevant transaction, should the option is exercised in return for the Option Premium collected.

It refers to the securities, issued by the Asset Leasing Company (ALC) in order to finance the assets/right acquired or leased, which entitle its holders to the revenues generated from such assets/right in proportion to their shares. Lease certificates traded on Borsa İstanbul can be purchased and sold in these markets.

Repo is the transaction of selling a fixed income security with a commitment to repurchase it on a predetermined date. Repo is a fixed income investment instrument and investors who want to carry out repo transactions should have an account opened by our bank. Investments can be made with maturities starting from 1 day.

In case the card holder wants to buy goods and services or make any payment without visiting a member merchant, it is a payment transaction realized by mail, telephone or fax by providing the necessary information to the member merchant as an instruction.

It refers to the last day on which the card holder can pay the period debt or the minimum payment due without going into default.

It is the total outstanding balance of the debt and receivable transactions reaching to the bank until the credit card statement date and your running record.

It indicates the minimum payment due to be paid until the last payment date.

Credit Card Fee is the type of expense charged to the credit card holder and collected in order to ensure the sustainability of the advantages such as installments and discounts and to maintain the quality of the services that the bank offers to clients over a 1-year period (delivering the credit card statements, extending credit card limit, providing assistance services etc.) and for operating the system that allows the cards to be used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all over the world. This fee, which is clearly stipulated in the Banking Transactions Agreement, is collected entirely within the framework of legal regulations.

You can use internet or mobile banking of related bank or contact to call center.

Account Closing Date is the last date when the expenses made by the credit card holder during the period are reflected in the statement for payment. The credit cards are allocated with a certain credit card statement date in accordance with the person's request. Thereby the aim is to allow the person to choose the right date to make the payment in accordance with the monthly income.

The Credit Card Statement Date is determined by the bank after the card is activated. However, the Credit Card Statement Date may further be determined by the credit card holders in accordance with their payments.

Clients' loan or credit card applications are evaluated in line with the criteria established within the framework of the bank's credit policies. In case the client rating is below the value determined for a positive response to a credit card or loan request, such requests cannot be approved and there is no other action that can be taken if the client is notified accordingly.

The bank provides the credit card holder with a credit card statement showing the details of the expenditures realized during the month. The credit card holder determines the credit card statement date when applying for a credit card. Monthly balance is paid within this date range. As millions of card holders have the same credit card statement date and the system performs this transaction automatically, it is not possible to determine the time when the credit card statement is issued.

• A credit card whose minimum payment due is delayed 3 times within a calendar year will be closed for cash withdrawal transactions.
• A credit card whose minimum payment due is not paid for three consecutive period is suspended.
• In order for the suspended credit card to be re-used, entire outstanding balance should be paid.

You can define the portion of your allocated credit card limit as a Supplementary Card limit.