Fiba Group

Fiba Group, also known as Fiba Holding, is a Turkish diversified holding company founded in 1987 by entrepreneur Hüsnü Özyeğin. The group began with the creation of Finansbank in Turkey and subsequently developed into a multinational enterprise with interests in banking, leasing, factoring, insurance, pensions, asset management, retail, real estate, renewable and conventional energy, hospitality, and commercial property management. Its activities extend beyond Turkey into parts of Europe and Asia. Financial services remain central to the group. Its Turkish banking presence is represented by Fibabanka, established in 2010 after Fiba Group had sold its Turkish banking arm, Finansbank, to the National Bank of Greece in 2006. The group's international banking operations were retained and reorganized under the Credit Europe Bank identity. Other financial businesses include banking operations associated with Nexent Bank, leasing companies in several markets, Fiba Faktoring, insurance and pension activities, and asset-management companies such as Fiba Portföy Yönetimi and Gelecek Varlık Yönetimi. Fiba has also built a substantial non-financial portfolio. Fiba Retail manages franchise and retail activities connected with international fashion and sportswear brands, including Marks & Spencer, GAP, Banana Republic, Forever 21, and Lululemon in selected markets. In 2025, Fiba Retail acquired a 50 percent interest in Sportive through a joint venture with İş Private Equity. Fiba Commercial Properties manages shopping centers and related commercial real-estate assets in Turkey, Romania, Moldova, and China. The group is also active in hospitality through its ownership of Swissôtel The Bosphorus in Istanbul. Energy is another important business area. Through Fina Enerji, Fiba Group has interests in wind and solar power as well as coal-related assets. In 2017, the group became a co-owner of the Kınık coal mine. That investment subsequently attracted scrutiny from environmental campaigners, and Fiba Group has been included on the Global Coal Exit List compiled by the nongovernmental organization Urgewald. The coal exposure sits alongside the group's renewable-energy activities and is an important part of its public sustainability profile. The company is chaired by Murat Özyeğin, son of the founder, who has led the group as chair since 2019 according to the referenced biographical material. Hüsnü Özyeğin has also pursued social and educational initiatives outside the commercial group. In 2008, he established Özyeğin University in Istanbul, while the Hüsnü M. Özyeğin Foundation supports education and social development and Fiba has maintained a long-term partnership with the Mother Child Education Foundation, known as AÇEV. Fiba Group is therefore best understood as a family-founded, internationally active Turkish holding company rather than as a single-product consumer brand. Its portfolio combines regulated financial institutions, franchised retail, income-generating property, energy infrastructure, and hospitality assets. The breadth of the portfolio gives the group exposure to multiple economic sectors and geographies, while also creating differing regulatory, operational, and environmental considerations across its businesses.

Fiba Group was founded in Turkey in 1987 by Hüsnü Özyeğin, initially through the establishment of Finansbank. The bank provided the foundation for a broader holding-company model. Beginning in 1990, Fiba expanded internationally, first entering Switzerland and subsequently establishing or developing banking operations in Romania, Russia, and the Netherlands. This internationalization became a defining feature of the group and later supported its financial-services presence in additional European markets. A major portfolio change occurred in 2006, when Fiba Group sold its Turkish banking arm, Finansbank, to the National Bank of Greece. Rather than withdrawing from banking, the group retained its international operations and reorganized them under the Credit Europe Bank name. The transaction marked a shift from ownership of the original Turkish bank toward a more internationally distributed financial-services structure. Fiba returned to the Turkish banking market in 2010 with the establishment of Fibabanka. It continued to broaden its financial activities in 2013 by creating Fiba Portföy, an asset-management business. Other financial interests developed across leasing, factoring, insurance, pension products, and receivables management. The group's banking and related operations have included Turkey as well as the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Romania, Russia, Malta, and Ukraine. The group also diversified beyond finance. Its retail division, Fiba Retail, developed franchise operations for international fashion and sportswear brands, including Marks & Spencer, GAP, Banana Republic, Forever 21, and Lululemon in selected markets. Its real-estate interests include Fiba Commercial Properties, which manages shopping centers and other commercial assets in Turkey, Romania, Moldova, and China. In hospitality, the group owns Swissôtel The Bosphorus in Istanbul. Energy became another significant area through Fina Enerji. The business has interests in wind and solar power, while the group has also maintained exposure to coal through the Kınık coal mine. Fiba Group became a co-owner of the mine in 2017. Environmental organization Urgewald later included the group on its Global Coal Exit List, making the coal investment a notable issue in discussions of the group's energy portfolio and environmental positioning. Leadership subsequently passed to the founder's son. Murat Özyeğin has chaired the group since 2019, according to the referenced material. Alongside its commercial activities, the Özyeğin family has supported education and social-development initiatives. Hüsnü Özyeğin established Özyeğin University in Istanbul in 2008, and the Hüsnü M. Özyeğin Foundation supports social and educational programs. Fiba has also been described as a long-term partner of AÇEV, the Mother Child Education Foundation. In the 2020s, Fiba continued to expand its retail portfolio. In 2024, Fiba Retail obtained Turkish franchise rights for Forever 21 and Lululemon. In 2025, it acquired a 50 percent interest in Sportive through a joint venture with İş Private Equity. These moves extended the group’s consumer-facing activities while its financial, property, energy, and hospitality businesses continued to form the wider holding-company platform.

• 2025

  Sportive investment

  [1]Fiba Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Fiba Retail acquired a 50 percent stake in Sportive through a joint venture with İş Private Equity.

• 2024

  Forever 21 and Lululemon franchise rights

  [1]Fiba Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Fiba Retail obtained Turkish franchise rights for Forever 21 and Lululemon.

• 2019

  Murat Özyeğin chairs the group

  [1]Fiba Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Murat Özyeğin, the founder's son, became chairman of Fiba Group.

• 2017

  Kınık coal-mine co-ownership

  [1]Fiba Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Fiba Group became a co-owner of the Kınık coal mine through its energy interests.

• 2013

  Entry into asset management

  [1]Fiba Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group entered asset management with the creation of Fiba Portföy.

• 2010

  Fibabanka founded

  [1]Fiba Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Fiba Group created Fibabanka to re-establish a presence in the Turkish financial market.

• 2008

  Özyeğin University established

  [1]Fiba Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Hüsnü Özyeğin established Özyeğin University in Istanbul as part of his educational and social-development activities.

• 2006

  Sale of Finansbank

  [1]Fiba Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Fiba Group sold its Turkish banking arm, Finansbank, to the National Bank of Greece and retained its foreign operations under the Credit Europe Bank name.

• 1990

  International expansion begins

  [1]Fiba Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Fiba began expanding internationally with banking operations in Switzerland, followed by further operations in Romania, Russia, and the Netherlands.

• 1987

  Fiba Group founded

  [1]Fiba Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Hüsnü Özyeğin founded the group through the establishment of Finansbank in Turkey.

A diversified Turkish investment and operating group combining financial services with retail, real estate, energy, and hospitality businesses across Turkey and selected international markets.

• Banking · 2010

  Fibabanka

  Fibabanka is Fiba Group's Turkish banking business, established in 2010 after the group sold Finansbank. It represents the group's renewed domestic banking presence and forms part of its wider financial-services portfolio.

• Banking

  Nexent Bank

  Nexent Bank is identified as part of Fiba Group's international financial-services operations, with activities connected with the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Romania, Malta, and Ukraine.

• Factoring · 1992

  Fiba Faktoring

  Fiba Faktoring is the group's factoring business. It is described as having been established in 1992 and complements Fiba's banking, leasing, insurance, and asset-management activities.

• Asset management · 2013

  Fiba Portföy

  Fiba Portföy Yönetimi is Fiba Group's asset-management business, created in 2013 as the group expanded beyond banking and related financial services.

• Fashion and sportswear retail

  Fiba Retail

  Fiba Retail operates franchise-based fashion and sportswear businesses in selected markets. Its portfolio has included Marks & Spencer, GAP, Banana Republic, Forever 21, and Lululemon, and it owns a 50 percent interest in Sportive.

• Commercial real estate

  Fiba Commercial Properties

  Fiba Commercial Properties manages shopping centers and other commercial real-estate assets in Turkey, Romania, Moldova, and China, giving the group a property-management and investment platform outside financial services.

• Energy

  Fina Enerji

  Fina Enerji is the group's energy platform, with activities in wind and solar power and exposure to coal-related assets, including the Kınık coal mine.

• Hospitality

  Swissôtel The Bosphorus

  Swissôtel The Bosphorus in Istanbul is a luxury hotel owned by Fiba Group and represents the group's hospitality investment.

• 2017

  Kınık coal-mine exposure and environmental criticism

  Fiba Group became a co-owner of the Kınık coal mine in 2017. Environmental organization Urgewald subsequently included the group on its Global Coal Exit List. The inclusion reflects criticism of the group's coal exposure alongside its investments in wind and solar energy.

  Source

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• 2025

  Acquisition of a 50 percent stake in SportiveM&A

  Background

  Fiba Retail pursued additional growth in sports retail through a partnership structure.

  Action taken

  Fiba Retail acquired a 50 percent stake in Sportive through a joint venture with İş Private Equity.

  Aftermath

  The transaction expanded Fiba Retail's participation in the sports-retail market.

  Source

• 2024

  Expansion of fashion and sportswear franchisingStrategy

  Background

  Fiba Retail expanded its international-brand portfolio in the Turkish market.

  Action taken

  Fiba Retail obtained Turkish franchise rights for Forever 21 and Lululemon.

  Aftermath

  The agreements increased Fiba Retail's presence in fashion and sportswear alongside existing franchise relationships.

  Source

• 2013

  Expansion into asset managementStrategy

  Background

  Fiba Group broadened its financial activities beyond commercial banking and associated services.

  Action taken

  The group created Fiba Portföy Yönetimi.

  Aftermath

  Asset management became part of the group's wider financial-services platform.

  Source

• 2010

  Creation of FibabankaProduct launch

  Background

  After selling Finansbank, Fiba Group sought to rebuild a domestic Turkish banking presence.

  Action taken

  The group established Fibabanka in Turkey.

  Aftermath

  Fibabanka became a central component of the group's Turkish financial-services portfolio.

  Source

• 2006

  Sale of Finansbank to National Bank of GreeceM&A

  Background

  Fiba Group decided to sell its Turkish banking arm while maintaining an international financial-services presence.

  Action taken

  Finansbank was sold to the National Bank of Greece, while Fiba retained and rebranded its foreign operations under Credit Europe Bank.

  Aftermath

  The transaction shifted Fiba's banking structure and was followed by the creation of Fibabanka in Turkey in 2010.

  Source

1. 1Fiba Groupen.wikipedia.org