Istanbul - Forty Years Later

Just back from a nostalgic trip to Istanbul where I reconnected with two former Governors of the Central Bank of Türkiye, three former bank CEOs, and two former senior HR/Learning and Development executives, all who supported me forty years ago when establishing the Center for International Banking Studies - Istanbul (CIBS) during a transformative period in Türkiye’s modern economic history.

In 1986, with the financial backing of the Banks Association of Türkiye and the World Bank, I led a project that took a rundown, seven floor hotel on the Marmara Sea and turned it into a world-class residential training center for bankers.

I was interested in exploring the impact that CIBS had on the development of Türkiye’s banking sector. All commented that CIBS’s influence and impact went beyond the 2,500 participants (from Türkiye and from other countries in the Middle East and Africa) that attended classes during its 4.5 years of operation. CIBS’s quality of teaching, distinctive international culture, and professionalism was a role model for the Turkish banks as they endeavored to create their own learning and development activities.

A few who were aware of my activities after this experience in Türkiye, while at Citibank and then at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), noted that I was able to apply what I had learned to similar projects in other emerging economies like China, Russia, Hungary, Romania, and Uzbekhistan.

I appreciated the generous time given and everyone’s willingness to reach back forty years in their memories. Many thanks to Husnu Özyğin, Bulent Gultekin, Zekeriya Yildirm, Bulent Şenver, Melih Araz, Saide Kuzeyli and Zeynep Berberoğlu.

I’m thinking there may be a story to be written about the CIBS experience, its impact on Türkiye, and beyond.