Ziraat Bankası 2012 Annual Report

Headlines from the History of Ziraat Bank

Attaining a solid and sustainable performance since its incorporation, Ziraat Bank rapidly progresses towards building the productive and efficient bank of the future on the back of the comprehensive change and transformation project that it has launched.

1863
Foundations of Ziraat Bank are laid...

In 1863, Mithat Pasha, governor of Niş, a city in the former Yugoslavia that was Ottoman territory at the time, led the establishment of the “Homeland Coffers” in the town of Pirot by and under the auspices of the state. In 1867, the Homeland Coffers Regulation was enacted and became the legal framework for the first organized credit system in our country.

1888
Ziraat Bank turns into a modern financial institution…

In 1883, the Homeland Coffers were replaced by Benefit Funds. In 1888, the governing statute of Ziraat Bank went into force on 28 August and the Bank’s head office began operations on 17 September. As Benefit Funds were converted into bank branches, a new era began in our organized agricultural loan history.

1922
Ziraat Bank reunifies…

In 1919, money was supplied from Ziraat Bank’s funds to cover the expenses of detachments of the Turkish National Army during the War of Independence and used to purchase equipment for soldiers.

Upon the establishment of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on 23 April 1920, the management of all branches and funds in territories under the Parliament’s control was assigned to the Ankara Branch of the Ziraat Bank. Ankara took control of İzmir operations on 09 September 1922, followed by İstanbul operations, and the Bank reunified on 23 October 1922.

With the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923, Ziraat Bank embarked upon a period of rapid growth and extensive service delivery. The Bank began offering service to the entire Turkish society with a particular focus on farmers all over the country. Ziraat Bank’s mission was no longer confined to the agricultural sector. The Bank served as the engine of Turkey’s growth process.

1980s
Ziraat Bank turns into an institution of global scale…

Ziraat Bank continued with its rapid growth. The Bank’s New York and London representative offices were turned into branches in 1983 and 1987 respectively, while representative offices entered service in Duisburg, Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, and Rotterdam. Ziraat Bank was ranked 452nd in the Euromoney magazine’s 1988 list of the World’s Top 500 Banks by Equity Capital.

During this period, Ziraat Bank publicly opened Turkey’s first banking museum in its head office building in the Ulus district of Ankara and also launched the Banking School.

1990s
Ziraat Bank carries on with its international expansion…

Ziraat Bank Moscow, Kazkommerts Ziraat International Bank (KZI Bank), Turkmen Turkish Commercial Bank (TTC Bank) and Uzbekistan Turkish Bank (UT Bank) began operations in 1993.

In the same year, Ziraat Bank ranked 202nd in Euromoney’s top 500 banks, 41st by net profit, and world first in return on equity.

The number of the Bank’s subsidiaries reached 21 in 1999.

2000s
Ziraat Bank embarks upon a crucial era in its history...

The Law 4603 passed in 2000 transformed Ziraat Bank into a joint-stock company. Within the context of the restructuring of public banks, Ziraat Bank underwent extensive changes starting in 2001. The Bank’s organizational structure was completely overhauled to bring it into line with the needs of modern banking and international competition. In this process, Emlak Bank, another state-owned bank, was merged into Ziraat Bank.

Having successfully completed its mission, the Joint Administration Board of Public Banks was disbanded in 2005.

With an agreement signed by and between Ziraat Bank and Türkiye İş Bankası (İşbank), Ziraat Bank credit cards acquired Maximum card properties in 2007.

Ziraat Bank opened branches in Greece, Iraq and Saudi Arabia to reinforce its presence in the Balkans and the Middle East, and increased the number of countries where it operates to 16 as of year-end 2012.

In the Turkey Customer Satisfaction Index released by the Quality Association of Turkey (KalDer), Ziraat Bank was named the leader among public banks in customer satisfaction in retail banking category from 2007 through 2010.

Ziraat Bank posted the highest profit of all Turkish banks from 2004 through 2010.

In the “Top 1000 World Banks” listing published by The Banker magazine in 2011, Ziraat Bank took the second place in Western Europe and the fifth place in the world in the “Best Profits on Average Capital” category.

As a result of the changes in office in 2011, Hüseyin Aydın was appointed as the Bank’s General Manager. In this period, the Bank launched the change and transformation project under the slogan “Together, to a Better Future”, which is aligned with the Bank’s vision, mission and values and which took into consideration the best practices in the industry.

Drawing closer to 150th year in service-Ziraat Bank moves toward its targets of change and transformation…

Initial steps were taken to recreate Ziraat Bank as a strong, competitive, leading bank that pioneers best banking practices, is engaged in world-class banking and enjoys high market capitalization, and significant way was paved towards the target of being “more than a bank”.