OREANDA-NEWS. Renaissance Capital, the leading emerging- and frontier-markets investment bank, has appointed Mike Harris as Managing Director, Head of Turkey Product.

Based between London and Istanbul, reporting to David Nangle, Head of Equity Research at Renaissance Capital, Mike will be responsible for country strategy, and for expanding the Firm's research coverage of Turkey, a core market for the Renaissance Capital EEMEA franchise. Mr. Harris joins Renaissance Capital from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he was a senior research analyst, research manager and equity strategist over the past 19 years. From 2002-2010, Mike and his team were ranked number one for Turkish stock coverage by Institutional Investor eight times. More recently, Mike was head of Emerging EMEA & Frontier markets strategy, during which time he received nine additional top rankings by Institutional Investor including the number one position for Turkish equity strategy.

“Mike is one of the most respected and highly recognised analysts in the region and we're very pleased that such a professional has become our new Head of Turkey Product,” said Igor Vayn, Chief Executive Officer of Renaissance Capital. “His experience and deep knowledge of Turkey in particular and whole region in general, will further enhance our research capabilities in this key market.”

Renaissance Capital has additionally appointed Ilgin Erdogan as Head of Turkey research, based in Istanbul. “Ilgin is our most senior and experienced analyst on the ground, and highly respected in the market place, and this promotion is recognition of that,” added David Nangle. Completing the Turkish research team is Mete Ozbek on consumer coverage, and Can Demir who formally takes over lead coverage of Turkish financials, along with his lead on Greek financials coverage.

In addition, David George, who joined Renaissance Capital in February as Head of London Trading, has been appointed as Head of Turkish Equities in addition to his existing role.

“We've made some significant investments in Turkey in the past six months, to support our already strong team on the ground in Istanbul,” said Benjamin Samuels, Head of Equities of Renaissance Capital. “With the appointments of Mike Harris and David George and promotion of Ilgin Erdogan, we now have a best-in-class Turkey franchise to better serve our clients.”

Renaissance Capital continues to consistently boost its teams across the geographies with world-class professionals, as part of its strategy for further business development. These efforts were reflected in the Firm's FY13 financial results: Renaissance Capital reported a net profit of USD 14.09mn for the period, compared with a loss of USD 378.24mn for FY12. Total operating income reached USD 275.37mn for the period, compared with USD 78.03mn for the previous year.