A LOST CHAPTER IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF TURKISH BANKING INDUSTRY

What if you spent two intense years building something that transformed an industry, only to discover forty years later that it had almost vanished from history? When Ken Pasternak uncovered old documents and photographs from his time in Istanbul, he began searching online for any trace of the Center for International Banking Studies (CIBS). To his astonishment, it seemed to have disappeared entirely. That discovery sparked the journey behind this book. Seconded from Citibank and reporting directly to the Governor of the Central Bank of Türkiye, Pasternak led a small team on an extraordinary mission: convert a crumbling hotel on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus into a world-class residential training center for bankers. What began as a bold experiment for Turkey soon drew professionals from across the Middle East and the former Soviet Union, helping shape a new generation of regional banking leaders. This is the inside story of vision, leadership, cultural discovery, and the making of an institution that quietly helped change banking in the region.