ISTANBUL, Nov. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- FICO (NYSE:FICO), the leading provider of analytics and decision management technology, today announced its plans to grow business in Turkey, as it opened its first office in Istanbul. FICO has served banks in Turkey for more than 10 years, and counts among its clients several leading lenders, including Garanti, Yapi Kredi Bank, Finansbank, Akbank and Isbank.

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As part of its market launch today, FICO and the Turkish banking publication Payment Source Monthly held a forum that included presentations from FICO experts as well as Professor Dr. Asaf Savas Akat, an economist with Istanbul Bilgi Universitesi, and Professor Dr. Kerem Alkin, Bloomberg HT Director of PSM Yazan.

Turkey's economic growth and rapid credit expansion give it one of the healthiest European banking industries. Credit growth has stabilized, coming down from the 2010 growth rate of 35 percent to an estimated level of under 15 percent this year. At the Istanbul Finance Summit in September, Erdem Basci, Chairman of the Turkish Central Bank, said that prudent credit controls are necessary to prevent an overheated market. 

"For banking clients in this region, it's a top priority to keep extending credit to consumers and businesses, but they need to find a more profitable way," said Kerem Gul, who manages FICO's operations in Turkey, and whose background includes more than 17 years of account/relationship management and business development experience in business application software, strategic & operational consultancy and business analytics. "Customer management, collections and analytics-driven performance are the top priorities for retail bankers, and FICO has leading solutions in each of these areas. We can also help banks understand how to improve risk management and capital management, and meet the regulations from Basel."

"This is absolutely the right time for FICO to increase our investment in the Turkish market," said Frans Labuschagne, FICO general manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, at today's office launch event in Istanbul. "In FICO's most recent survey of European banking risk professionals, respondents from Turkey put extending more credit to consumers and small businesses among their top priorities for 2013. But this growth needs to be undertaken with proper risk management. We have the solutions, the analytics and the experts to help banks meet this goal."

FICO also has European offices in the UK, Germany, Spain and Russia.

About FICO
FICO (NYSE:FICO), formerly known as Fair Isaac, delivers superior predictive analytics solutions that drive smarter decisions. The company's groundbreaking use of mathematics to predict consumer behavior has transformed entire industries and revolutionized the way risk is managed and products are marketed. FICO's innovative solutions include the industry-leading solutions for measuring credit risk, managing credit accounts, identifying and minimizing the impact of fraud, and customizing consumer offers with pinpoint accuracy. Most of the world's top banks, as well as leading insurers, retailers, pharmaceutical companies and government agencies, rely on FICO solutions to accelerate growth, control risk, boost profits and meet regulatory and competitive demands. Learn more at www.fico.com. FICO: Make every decision count^™.

For FICO news and media resources, visit www.fico.com/news.

Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Information
Except for historical information contained herein, the statements contained in this news release that relate to FICO or its business are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the success of the Company's Decision Management strategy and reengineering plan, the maintenance of its existing relationships and ability to create new relationships with customers and key alliance partners, its ability to continue to develop new and enhanced products and services, its ability to recruit and retain key technical and managerial personnel, competition, regulatory changes applicable to the use of consumer credit and other data, the failure to realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisitions, continuing material adverse developments in global economic conditions, and other risks described from time to time in FICO's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2012. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes, FICO's results could differ materially from its expectations. FICO disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

FICO and "Make every decision count" are trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation in the US and other countries.

SOURCE FICO