The Financial Geography of Türkiye: Province-Level Regional Divergence along the Financial Depth-Access-Risk/Vulnerability Nexus (2007-2025)

This study aims to measure and classify inter-provincial differences in financial development in Turkey. The analysis is based on a composite framework that considers the dimensions of financial depth (FDI), financial access/inclusiveness (FAI), and financial risk/vulnerability (FRI). The study utilizes provincelevel banking data published by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA) covering the period from 2007/12 to 2025/09. The indicators were deflated, standardized, and variable weights were derived for each sub-period using Principal Component Analysis (PCA); the resulting provinciallevel indices were transformed into policy-relevant typologies through k-means clustering. The findings reveal that regional financial inequality in Turkey has a spatially persistent component: The 14 provinces in the East and Southeast remained in the “financially excluded†cluster across all three macro-financial periods; in contrast, a distinct typology characterized by a “high depth-high fragility†combination emerged in production hubs such as Adana, Bursa, and İzmir. As the first province-level typology analysis in the Turkish literature to integrate the dimensions of financial depth, access, and credit quality within a single measurement framework, the study offers a targeted classification for regional credit policy, financial inclusion strategies, and financial stability oversight. The results indicate that regional financial inequalities must be assessed not only in terms of access deficiencies but also within the framework of the interaction between financial deepening and risk accumulation.