He was born in Eregli in 1899. It is said that he is the descendant of a janissary lord who escaped from Istanbul during the reign of Mahmud II and settled in the Ortaca village of Ereğli.[1] His grandfather Hüseyin Kamil Efendi and his father Tevfik Efes were judges.
After completing his high school education, Şefik Kamil started his business life as a manager in his uncle's mines in Kandilli. After working as a baker for a while, he worked in the sales of mine poles, the supply of sleepers for the railways under construction and construction. Together with his wife, Hilmiye Hanım, he established a company to undertake all kinds of commitments of mine poles, forest commitments, government and institutions, and to buy and sell all kinds of commercial commodities.[2] When he had problems with getting a letter of guarantee, he decided to establish a bank in Zonguldak, like many private-local banks established in Anatolia at that time. In 1932, he established a loan bank called "Help Bank". Due to his interest in archeology, he chose the name of the ancient city of Ephesus as his surname when the Surname Law was enacted.[1]
In 1937, the name of the bank was changed to Efesbank.[3][4][5] He liquidated Efes Bank in 1972 and quit trading. He died in Ereğli, Zonguldak in 1988 due to health problems he experienced.
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