Garanti BBVA Wins Three Honors at Global Finance Sustainable Finance Awards

Garanti BBVA secured three recognitions at the Global Finance Sustainable Finance Awards, reinforcing the bank’s positioning that sustainability is embedded in its long-term strategy and reflected in real economy financing. The bank was named Turkey’s Best Sustainable Finance Bank, while its support for the Antalya-Alanya Highway Project was also recognized with two regional awards in Central and Eastern Europe.

The set of awards highlights two dimensions of the bank’s approach: an overall sustainable finance strategy that Global Finance viewed as consistent over time, and a flagship financing transaction that was assessed as delivering both environmental and social value alongside community benefits.

 

Recognition Built on Strategy, Products, and Measurable Impact

 

Global Finance’s evaluation emphasized long-term strategy, product innovation, and evidence of impact. In that context, Garanti BBVA’s financing toolkit, spanning green, social, and sustainability-linked products, was presented as a core part of how the bank supports transformation in the real sector. The recognition suggests that the bank’s approach was viewed not as a parallel initiative, but as something integrated into its broader business model.

The awards also extend beyond Türkiye. Alongside the national category win, the bank’s project-linked recognitions were framed around contributions across Central and Eastern Europe, indicating that the bank’s sustainable finance activity is being assessed for relevance and outcomes at a regional level.

 

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Meeting Targets Early and Raising the Bar Through 2029

 

A central point highlighted alongside the awards was the bank’s performance against its sustainable finance targets. Garanti BBVA reached its sustainable finance goal for the 2018 to 2025 period ahead of schedule, and it has now set a higher ambition for the 2018 to 2029 period, targeting TL 3.5 trillion in sustainable finance.

Positioned against that target, the bank’s continued emphasis is on funding transition and growth with instruments that link financing to sustainability outcomes, including sustainability-linked structures, as well as products designed to support green and social priorities.

 

Antalya-Alanya Highway Financing as a Flagship Sustainability-Linked Deal

 

The bank’s financing for the Antalya-Alanya Highway Project was singled out as an award-winning example of sustainability-linked funding in practice. The project received €1.7 billion in sustainability-linked financing, described as one of the largest sustainability-linked loans provided to a corporate company in Türkiye.

This transaction was recognized in two categories for Central and Eastern Europe: Sustainable Finance Deal of the Year and Best Bank Supporting Communities. The dual recognition signals that the deal was seen not only as a large sustainability-linked structure, but also as one that supports community-linked outcomes through infrastructure investment.

 

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Leadership View: Sustainability as a Core Business Principle

 

Garanti BBVA CEO Mahmut Akten framed sustainability as fundamental to how the bank operates, describing the bank’s focus as creating long-term value across areas such as climate action, inclusive growth, infrastructure development, and social progress. He also noted that recognition from Global Finance matters because it signals external validation that the bank’s direction and execution are aligned with credible expectations in sustainable finance.

He added that the bank intends to continue supporting the sustainable transformation of Türkiye and the wider region by backing the real sector with financing solutions that are both robust and innovative, maintaining momentum against its longer-term sustainable finance ambitions through 2029.