In 2015 Ziraat Bank booked a profit of TL 5.2 billion, which was 27.5% higher than that of the previous year, while it also performed well as measured by numerous profitability and productivity indicators.

Ziraat Bank continued to fulfill the commitments laid out in the 2015 roadmap and achieved many successful results.

In line with the seven key objectives that it has identified, Ziraat Bank supplied an increasingly greater stream of high value added products, services, and solutions to customers in every segment in all three of its basic business lines of Corporate Banking, Mass Banking, and International Banking.

While doing so, Ziraat Bank also focused on generating as much value added as possible in line with the Integrated Partnership Management approach to which it adheres in its dealings with the domestic and international subsidiaries and affiliates that make up the Ziraat Finance Group.

Pursuing growth consistent with its customer-focused balance-sheet structure, its robust equity mix, and its sustainable profitability objective, in 2015 Ziraat Bank booked a profit of TL 5.2 billion, which was 27.5% higher than that of the previous year, while it also performed well as measured by numerous profitability and productivity indicators.

While maintaining its broadly-based deposit structure, the Bank nonetheless abstained from the destructive competition in the market for deposits whose consequences are so injurious to the sector as a whole. Efforts were also made to diversify Ziraat Bank’s non-deposit sources of funding.

At more than 400 locations all over Turkey, Ziraat Bank remains the only supplier of financial solutions to which its customers may have recourse. The Bank’s already extensive domestic branch network reach was further expanded with the addition of 112 new branches in 2015.

In the “Bonds & Loans Turkey 2015” event organized by Global Financial Conferences, one of the world’s leading organizers of prestigious international financing and investment gatherings, Ziraat Bank won awards in seven different categories including first-places for four of the projects for which its supplied financing and which made it to the final: the Gebze-İzmir Motorway, Dalaman Airport, the Kayseri Health Campus, and the Yeniköy Kemerköy Thermal Power Plant.

Corporate/Entrepreneurial Banking

Towards Turkey’s 2023 Vision…
One of the goals set out in Turkey’s 2023 Vision is that the country will join the ranks of the world’s ten biggest economies by that year.

Ziraat Bank is playing an increasingly greater role in Turkey’s long-term growth and development processes by supplying funding resources, products, and services that are compatible with that goal while also contributing to job-creation and to economic growth in the broadest sense.

Mindful of its own vision of being both its sector’s leader and an ethical and global bank, Ziraat Bank therefore continues to play a leading role in the financing of high value added, feasible, and medium- and large-scale projects that will especially contribute to the national economy and reduce its external dependency.

Goal: Work with all sectors and all economic actors
A fundamental Ziraat Bank objective is to work with all economic actors irrespective of their sector.

In addition to its core business activities of financing agricultural production, agroindustry, and industrial endeavors, trade finance has also emerged recently as one of the business lines in which Ziraat Bank is increasing its presence and competitive strength.

Ziraat Bank has 22 corporate branches.
Twenty-two of Ziraat Bank’s branches have been designated “corporate branches” and given the mission of managing existing corporate customers’ portfolios in the most productive way possible while also increasing the number of such customers with which they actively work. By virtue both of the business volumes they generate and of the range of firms they deal with, corporate branches continued to play an effective and leading role in diversifying Ziraat Bank’s balance sheet and customer base in 2015.

Ziraat Bank’s real-sector financing grew faster than the sectoral average.
The support that Ziraat Bank provides to real-sector endeavors grew faster than the overall sectoral average in 2015. Cash loan disbursements to corporate-segment customers increased by 44% year-on and reached TL 68 billion in value while non-cash credit was also up by 45% and amounted to TL 53 billion.

In 2015 Ziraat Bank also made important progress towards achieving its goal of deepening relationships with customers and becoming their primary and actively-serving bank.

The Bank’s essential focus is that a Ziraat customer should be working with every member of the Ziraat Finance Group insofar as is possible. To the degree that groupwise synergistic collaboration increases so too will it be possible to more effectively satisfy the real sector’s needs for financing its domestic and international business endeavors. That in turn will further strengthen Ziraat Bank’s position as the Turkish banking industry’s front-runner and leader.

The right value at the right time through the right channel
The ongoing “We’re Going Together, Further Ahead” transformation program that Ziraat Bank originally launched with the “Together, to a Better Future” slogan is aimed at correctly identifying customers’ financial needs and then supplying them with the right value, at the right time, and through the right channel.

In this context and within the framework of Ziraat Bank’s “Customer-Focused Banking” approach, a large number of projects have been initiated at the Bank’s headquarters, regional, and branch units since the introduction of the Ziraat Bank Customer Service Model.

In 2015 the Bank commissioned its flexible payment plan infrastructure in order to ensure that its corporate banking products and services are sectorally competitive and address customers’ needs. Infrastructure has also been installed for the pricing of the fees and commissions charged on foreign trade finance and these are now being systematically monitored.

Preliminary work has been completed on infrastructure that will allow the systematic processing of the Hermes, SEP, CERV, and GSM credits that are obtained from abroad to finance imports into the country. This system scheduled to go into operation by midyear 2016.

System- and legal-framework infrastructures related to free-zone branch business processes have been installed and were ready to go into service at the beginning of 2016.

Ongoing projects and personnel training aimed at streamlining process, system, and regulatory processes so as to deliver better-quality service within the framework of Ziraat Bank’s “Customer-Focused Banking” approach will continue in 2016 as well.

2015 highlights in the Corporate & Entrepreneurial Banking segments

EUR 100 million from the French Development Agency
A twelve-year, EUR 100 million line of credit was obtained from the French Development Agency to provide attractively-priced financing to agricultural-sector SMEs that process animal-source foods. Ziraat Bank began lending this to its customers at attractive rates in 2015.

This line of credit is to be used as loans to SMEs engaged in the non-primary (in other words other than animal husbandry) aspects of animal-source food production in order to finance modernization projects that will bring them into compliance with EU hygiene and environment standards and with the requirements of Turkish laws and regulations governing veterinary services, plant health, food, and animal feed.

Ziraat Bank correctly identifies customers’ financial needs and then supplies them with differentiated banking products through the right channel, at the right time, and at the right value.

Council of Europe Development Bank credit agreement
In 2014 a seven-year agreement was signed with the Council of Europe Development Bank (to provide a total of EUR 50 million in credit through Ziraat Finansal Kiralama, Ziraat Bank’s leasing subsidiary. Having been transferred to Ziraat Bank in 2015, the first tranches of this credit were then turned over to ZFK. Under the terms of the credit agreement, at least 15% of the total amount must be lent to businesses that are operating in Turkey’s priority-development regions.

The main goal of this program is to enable micro-, small-, and medium-sized businesses active in many different endeavors such as manufacturing, construction, agroindustry, tourism, trade, and logistics to undertake productive investments and also to meet their working capital requirements for such investments. Other objectives include helping these businesses create new jobs and improving their ability to protect existing ones, creating a positive social impact, and supporting the leasing industry.

World Bank credit for SMEs and larger-sized enterprises
Funding received from the World Bank is used to support small businesses (those that employ no more than 250 people) and medium-sized businesses (those that employ no more than 1,500 people) by meeting their needs for investment and working capital, overcoming difficulties in obtaining credit, and helping them to create jobs.

World Bank credit is characterized by lengthy grace periods, flexible repayment options, long terms, and low cost, which makes it suitable as a source of both investment and operating capital. Lending under this USD 200 million line of credit, the agreement for which was originally signed in 2010, was successfully completed in the first quarter of 2015.

During 2015 Ziraat Bank also continued to provide financing under two other agreements signed with the World Bank:

• A USD 67 million line of credit which is being used to finance the energy-efficiency investments of SMEs and larger-sized enterprises,

• A USD 300 million line of credit which is being supplied to SMEs both through leasing companies and through banks licensed to provide leasing products and services.

Besides supporting SMEs in their efforts to grow, these agreements also give leasing companies convenient access to the medium- and long-term funding that they need.

European Investment Bank credit financing for SMEs and larger-sized enterprises
In 2015 Ziraat Bank began lending from the second EUR 100 million tranche of a EUR 200 million line of credit which it had obtained under an agreement with the European Investment Bank to finance SMEs and larger-sized enterprises.

As per the agreement, this credit is being used both to support borrowers’ efforts to pursue growth by increasing output, productivity, and employment and to provide them with the investment and operating capital they need. Another stated objective is to help reduce interregional disparities in development levels.

EIB approved this EUR 200 million line of credit based on Ziraat Bank’s previous success in other projects of this nature. Under an agreement signed with EIB in May 2015, Ziraat Bank continued to lend investment and operating capital to SMEs and larger-sized enterprises from the first EUR 100 million tranche as well.

Seeking other ways in which to extend the scope of its collaboration with EIB into other areas as well, in September 2014 Ziraat Bank signed a EUR 100 million Instrument For Pre-Accession Assistance In Rural Development (IPARD) agreement with EIB to finance rural development projects in Turkey. This funding, which is to be used to finance projects that comply with terms set out by the Turkish Agricultural and Rural Development Support Agency, is also the first IPARD agreement that EIB has entered into with a bank in Turkey. In 2015 Ziraat Bank began supplying micro-, small-, medium-sized, and larger businesses in order to help overcome rural areas’ difficulty in gaining access to financing.

Saudi Export Program credit
In 2013 Ziraat Bank secured a USD 50 million line of credit from the Saudi Export Program to finance the importation of goods of Saudi Arabian origin into Turkey. Disbursements continued successfully in 2015. Under this SEP program, customers who import a wide range of goods other than petroleum from Saudi Arabia are provided with low-cost financing on terms of up to three years to pay for them.

German Development Bank (KfW) credit
In 2014 Ziraat Bank signed a 10-year agreement with the German Development Bank (KfW) to supply EUR 150 million in financing to SMEs that are located in rural areas or are part of the agricultural value-creation chain. Under this agreement credit is now being provided to micro-, small-, and medium-sized customers whose businesses are located in priority-development regions or in a few other localities that are stipulated in the agreement. The goals of this KfW project are to help reduce interregional disparities in development levels by providing Ziraat Bank customers with access to investment and operating capital.

KOSGEB Support Programs
Ziraat Bank and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization (KOSGEB) have entered into an agreement to give businesses that apply to that agency under its support programs easier access to sources of financing. Under the terms of this protocol, financing is provided if the application has been or will be supported by KOSGEB. Since 2011, the protocol has also been covering businesses that take part in KOSGEB’s SME Loan Interest Support programs.

The protocol covers the KOSGEB R&D, Innovation & Industrial Application Support Program and the KOSGEB Cooperation & Alliance Support Program as well as some others. Businesses taking part in such programs qualify for reductions of up to 20% on the interest charged on the cash loans they receive from Ziraat Bank.

Qualifying businesses benefit from reductions of up to 100% on many banking products and services (such as EFT etc.) that they avail themselves through the Bank’s non-branch banking channels. They may also take advantage of lower rates on loans financed from funding secured by Ziraat Bank from such sources as the European Investment Bank, the World Bank Energy Efficiency Program, the French Development Agency, and the German Development Bank.

Pharmacy Support Package
On 23 March 2015, Ziraat Bank introduced its “Pharmacy Support Package” and began offering it to pharmacists whose Social Security Corporation collections and payments are made through the Bank. This comprehensive package of advantageous banking and credit products and services is designed both to assist the country’s pharmacies and pharmacists and to support the Bank in its efforts to achieve leadership in this business line.

No-Barriers Support Package
In April 2015 Ziraat Bank introduced its “No-Barriers Support Package”, the aim of which is to support the business endeavors of the physically handicapped by providing them with the financing they need in order to play a bigger role in the national economy.

The Ziraat Bank No-Barriers Support Package contains a variety of advantageous banking products and is offered to:

• Sole proprietorships that belong to individuals who can prove that they lack at least 40% of their physical capacity but are nevertheless in full possession of their legal rights and capacity to act; commercial concerns in which such individuals own at least a 10% share
• Firms that employ at least one more physically handicapped person than they are required to under the Labor Code
• Firms that employee at least one physically handicapped person even though they are not by law obliged to do so.

Credit Guarantee Fund collaboration
Ziraat Bank has signed a new protocol with Credit Guarantee Fund Incorporated (KGF) setting out principles and procedures pertaining to the guarantees of credit products supplied under the fund’s “Portfolio Guarantee System”. To date, a total of TL 40 million worth of KGF guarantees have been provided for loans made to SMEs operating in priority-development regions.

Ziraat Women Entrepreneurs Support Package
On 4 December 2015 Ziraat Bank launched the “Ziraat Women Entrepreneurs Support Package”, whose aim is to help women entrepreneurs to play a bigger role in the national economy by supporting their business activities.

This package consists of an assortment of banking and/or credit products and services which have been put together with a focus on encouraging women to go into business and on strengthening their presence in economic and social life. The package is offered both to sole proprietorships that belong to women and to companies at least 50% of whose share capital belongs to partners who are women.

Under another agreement between Ziraat Bank and the Credit Guarantee Fund, KGF support may be provided to women taking advantage of the Ziraat Women Entrepreneurs Support Package who are in need of guarantees to cover loans they borrow from the Bank.

Ziraat Bank seeks to be a customer’s primary and actively-serving bank at every stage from agricultural production to financial consumption and to contribute to the development of agroindustry by collectively exploiting all the links of agricultural value-creation chain.

Financing the Agricultural Sector

Financing agricultural endeavors is one cornerstone of Ziraat Bank’s mission.
In the provision of agricultural sector financing, Ziraat Bank’s priority is to come up with quick and low-cost solutions that completely address its customers’ needs for finance throughout the agricultural value-creation chain while also helping the sector achieve competitiveness on a global scale.

Ziraat Bank seeks to be a customer’s primary and actively-serving bank in every stage from agricultural production to financial consumption and to contribute to the development of agroindustry by collectively exploiting all the links of the agricultural value-creation chain.

Standing by its customers with sustainable funding models which will enable businesses that are involved in agricultural production to increase their capacity, modernization, profitability, and productivity and which will create added value, Ziraat Bank also gives especial importance and priority to those funding models that will bring about organic links between small- and medium-sized producers and larger industrial concerns.

Financial solutions which are compatible with national agricultural policy
While Ziraat Bank provides financial support in line with national agricultural policy for projects that will encourage investment in strategic products and/or production methods whose added value is high, which need to be introduced, or whose availability needs to be increased, that is not all that it does. The Bank also supplies financial solutions whose terms, repayment methods, and attractive pricing can be tailored according to every product and/or production model in line with every producer’s needs and wishes.

The importance of the contract production model
The contract production model is of the utmost importance to the integration of those who produce agricultural products and those who use them as industrial inputs. While resolving producers’ marketing problems, this model also ensures that manufacturers have convenient and reliable access to consistent-quality produce. Ziraat Bank gives special importance to the contract production model when financing projects that involve the production of things like fresh fruits & vegetables, tomato paste, sugar beets, poultry, and seed stock for which the model is especially apt.

Collaboration with agricultural associations
Besides granting convenient access to credit and advantageous term, guarantee, and pricing conditions to producers who sell their produce through associations of which they are members or in which they are partners, Ziraat Bank also encourages producers to join agricultural associations in order to benefit from the associations’ marketing, storage, and pricing opportunities.

Ziraat Bank takes part in the congresses, symposiums, workshops, training programs, and similar activities organized by producers’ associations. The Bank demonstrates its willingness to aid the sector and its representatives by analyzing problems and coming up with solutions.

Support for agricultural production amounted to TL 35.8 billion in 2015.
The total volume of credit extended to finance the agricultural sector by Ziraat Bank amounted to TL 35.8 billion in 2015. As of year-end, the Bank had 634,689 agricultural credit customers.

As of the same date, TL 33.7 billion worth of the Bank’s total lending to the agricultural sector was supplied from Ziraat Bank’s own resources and the number of these borrowers was 549,432. The remaining TL 2.1 billion was lent to 85,257 customers.

In 2015 the Bank lent TL 22.2 billion to 442,114 individual/corporate customers out of its own resources and TL 87 million to 15,471 producers from resources supplied by special-purpose funds not controlled by the Bank. An analysis of Ziraat Bank’s agricultural credit portfolio shows that while TL 12,688 million (38%) of it consisted of investment credit, TL 21,013 million (62%) consisted of working capital.

The specific categories of agricultural credit that the Bank extended to customers in 2015 are summarized below.

Crop production: A total of TL 8,617 million in credit was extended to 205,422 producers to finance their production of field crops, fruits & vegetables, oilseed crops, strategic crops, and seed stock, seedlings & saplings. As of end-2015, Ziraat Bank’s crop production credit risk exposure amounted to TL 11,433 million.

Livestock production: A total of TL 6,067 million in credit was extended to 112,898 producers to finance their production of cattle, sheep & goats, poultry, bees, and other livestock. As of end-2015, Ziraat Bank’s livestock production credit risk exposure amounted to TL 10,352 million.

Agricultural mechanization: A total of TL 2,775 million in credit was extended to 58,087 producers to finance the acquisition of agricultural machinery & equipment such as tractors, harvesters, etc. As of end-2015, Ziraat Bank’s agricultural mechanization credit risk exposure amounted to TL 5,728 million.

Subsidized tractor acquisition: This is a special tractor financing product offered to borrowers who qualify for a fixed rate of interest. Last year a total of TL 2,096 million was lent to 41,511 customers in this way. Since the introduction of this product in 2004, a total of TL 7,973 million has been lent to 211,197 customers to finance their tractor purchases.

Greenhouse production: A total of TL 232 million worth of greenhouse production credit was extended to 5,151 producers. Over the last twelve years, Ziraat Bank has lent TL 2.7 billion to 94,848 customers to finance such activities as greenhouse construction & modernization as well as crop production.

In 2015, Ziraat Bank lent a total of TL 16.4 billion to 301,917 agriculturalsector producers and firms at reduced interest rates.

Land acquisition: Last year a total of TL 528 million in credit was extended to 4,159 customers to finance their purchase of land. As of end-2015, Ziraat Bank’s land acquisition credit risk exposure amounted to TL 1,098 million.

Fishing & fish-farming: TL 195.1 million was lent to 1,707 customers engaged in fishing, fish-farming, and similar activities. As of end-2015, Ziraat Bank’s fishing & fish-farming credit risk exposure amounted to TL 250 million.

Subsidized lending to the agricultural sector
In keeping with its mission to support agricultural endeavors Ziraat Bank supplies subsidized credit as specified in government decrees to customers who are engaged in various aspects of agricultural production. The rates charged on such lending typically vary between 0% and 8.25% on annual basis.

In 2015 Ziraat Bank extended a total of TL 16.4 billion worth of such subsidized credit to 301,917 agricultural-sector producers and firms.

Financing convenience with Başakkart
Ziraat Bank also makes use of Başakkart, a payment-card and overdraft product which it offers to agricultural sector customers, as a way of providing them with interest-free credit on terms of up to five months. In 2015 the Bank extended TL 4.9 billion worth of its aggregate Başakkart overdraft limit of TL 6.4 billion to 239 thousand producers, who used the low-cost financing to purchase fuel, seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, feed, veterinary services, and other agricultural inputs from the Bank’s nationwide network of Başakkart merchant partners.

In 2015 Ziraat Bank also processed:

• Price-support payments totaling TL 9,148 million made to 4,135,899 individual producers and associations of them;
• TL 3,053 million worth of Turkish Grain Board payments;
• TL 749 million worth of Turkish Sugar Mills sugar beet payments and advances.

Retail Banking

In order to address the needs of individuals in different customer groups for a wide range of retail banking products and services, Ziraat Bank supplies them through an extensive distribution network consisting of:

• Branches
• ATMs
• Internet and mobile banking applications
• Ziraat Bank Call Center

Under the heading of Ziraat Bank retail banking, efforts to address the needs and expectations of different retail banking segments, to enhance customer relationship management, to improve business processes, and to comply with applicable laws and regulations gained additional momentum in 2015.

For the development of the Bank’s customer-focused business model, a Retail Banking Project has been launched in order to make Ziraat Bank the primary financial institution that its customers prefer and one capable of giving them a satisfaction-based banking experience through an approach that addresses their financial needs in an integrated way.

Under this project, attention is being given to:

• Customer acquisition processes;
• Help and customer login screens;
• Improvements in the retail credit application process and in the overdraft account product;
• Optimizing processes so as to minimize the number of clicks needed to carry them out;
• Standardizing screens’ task and function flow layouts;
• Eliminating redundant information input requirements;
• Allowing fields to be automatically filled as much as possible with information obtained from in-house and external databases;
• Improvements in visual displays.

A retail credit pricing module and a commission refund module were brought online in 2015.
A new retail credit pricing module that allows retail credit products to be precisely priced according to specific criteria became operational at all Ziraat Bank branches last year. The benefits of this model are that it facilitates price transparency and standardization, rationalizes and objectifies credit application assessment, suggests price ranges based on such parameters as customer and product particulars and bank policies, simplifies task and approval workflows, and shows the impact of pricing decisions on portfolio profitability.

Another new application that went into use in 2015 was the Commission Refund Module. This module reduces the operational workloads involved in refunding mandatory service commission fees on subsidized loans etc. through the use of standardized templates. This module also ensures that refund processes are properly checked and systematically recorded.

New product packages
Three new product packages have been introduced for customers who receive their salary or pension payments through a Ziraat Bank account. Intended to increase customer loyalty, the contents of each package have been designed taking into consideration different customer group’s product and service preferences and the degree to which products are owned and actively used.

Regulatory compliance
Ziraat Bank has achieved full compliance with all of the changes in the regulatory framework that were introduced by new rules pertaining to consumer credit contracts and mortgage contracts that went into effect in 2015.

Ziraat Bank has also brought itself into compliance with the requirements of the E-Commerce Regulation Act (Statute 6563) concerning such matters as obtaining customers’ permission in order to communicate with them by e-mail, SMS, and telephone.

New business and customer acquisition
In 2015 efforts were made to ascertain, based on available sectoral data and information about public-sector payments, the dimensions of Ziraat Bank customers’ financial transactions that did not flow through the Bank itself. In March of the year a project was launched both to direct increasingly more of such business to the Bank while also seeking to attract new customers as well.

In the third quarter another project was initiated to develop a customer product-propensity model that allows retail customers’ needs to be determined proactively so as to ensure that the right products are offered to the right customers. As a result of this, it is now possible to display product offers and customer-based product-propensity scores on customer profile and portfolio management screens.

Turkey’s leading provider of bancassurance products
In 2015 Ziraat Bank once again maintained its position as Turkey’s leading provider of bancassurance products. The Bank booked TL 2.1 billion worth of premiums on credit-linked and stand-alone policies on which it earned TL 243.9 million in commissions.

Other developments in retail banking
Other developments in the retail banking business line in 2015 are highlighted below.

• Contracts covering 28 new housing projects were signed with developers.
• A new website dedicated to mortgage financing was launched at www.evinziraatten.com.
• Loans to finance Urban Renewal Program property acquisition, construction, and reinforcement projects were added to Ziraat Bank’s portfolio.
• Under a customer loyalty program for pensioners, Ziraat Bank customers whose pensions are paid through the Bank were allowed to take advantage of discount campaigns conducted by companies, organizations, etc. with which the Bank has entered into agreements.

Efforts to address the needs and expectations of different retail banking segments, to enhance customer relationship management, to improve business processes, and to comply with applicable laws and regulations gained additional momentum in 2015.

Growth in retail lending volumes
Retail lending makes up a significant share of Ziraat Bank’s loan book.

In 2015 Ziraat Bank continued to increase its share of the sector’s retail lending by reaching out to its huge customer base through branch and electronic service channels that give it access to every part of the country.

In 2015 Ziraat Bank granted 1,459,258 retail loans whose aggregate value amounted to TL 26,170,620,053.

That corresponds to averages of:

• 28,063 loans and TL 503,281,155 every week
• 5,700 loans and TL 102,228,985 every day
• 713 loans and TL 12,778,623 every hour.

In 2015 the Ziraat Bank Credit Allocation Center also received and reviewed 345,440 credit applications whose aggregate value amounted to TL 6,700,248,540.

That corresponds to averages of:

• 6,643 applications and TL 128,850,933 every week
• 1,349 applications and TL 26,172,846 every day.

In order to ensure the problem-free performance of customers’ retail loans by rescheduling or extending their repayment terms, 57,451 loans whose aggregate value amounted to TL 569,509,650 were restructured during 2015.

Electronic service channels

Delivering effective, quality service to customers through its electronic service channels as well as through its extensive branch network, Ziraat Bank once again achieved growth and registered successful results in this area.

Credit cards
The 3.5 million credit cards issued by Ziraat Bank as of end-2015 gave the Bank a 5.93% share of the domestic credit card market by number and a 3.07% of its total annual turnover.

Bankkart
As of end-2015 there were 22.2 million Ziraat Bank-issued debit (bank) cards whose use by its customers made the Bank the sector’s leader with an 18.71% share of its direct-debit payments turnover.

TSK Bankkart
TSK Bankkart is a chip-equipped (smart) debit card issued to members of the Turkish Armed Forces. As of end-2015, 1.2 million of them were in use.

Genç Bankkart 
Genç Bankkart is a chip-equipped (smart) debit card. As of end-2015, 1.6 million of them were in use.

Merchant partners and POS units
As of end-2015 Ziraat Bank’s merchant partner and POS network consisted of:

• 124,000 merchant partners
• 114,000 POS units
• 25,000 electronic cash registers (used on merchant partners’ premises).

Together these generated an aggregate merchant partner turnover amounting to TL 14.8 million and gave Ziraat Bank a 2.77% share of this business line’s total turnover.

Ziraat Bank Operations Center
Focusing on increasingly greater efficiency in the conduct of operations, the Ziraat Bank Operations Center ranked third most
cost-efficient service channel of Ziraat Bank after online banking and the ATM network.

In 2015 the Ziraat Bank Operations Center processed 153,322,723 individual transactions, a performance which boosted the Bank’s overall operational centralization score by two points to 98%.

Ziraat Bank continued its efforts to achieve operational excellence and standardization and to enhance operational efficiency all year long in 2015. Some of the highlights of these activities are summarized below.

• The center has begun processing first-mortgage policies.
• Registrar of deeds mortgage release procedures pertaining to retail loan accounts has been centralized.
• The center has begun processing checks issued by Ziraat Bank branches in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
• All regular salary payments on behalf of corporate customers are now being processed electronically and handled through the Ziraat Bank Operations Center. All manual intervention on the part of branches in these payments has ceased.
• A pilot project has been initiated to enable branch managers to delegate specific authorities through the online system.
• A “Returns Tracking” screen has been added to the Operations Center’s online system. This makes it possible to keep track of detailed information about task requests sent to the center by branches and returned by the center to them.
• The Operations Center has begun sending out safe-deposit box related notifications.
• Mortgages pertaining to corporate customers’ loans can now be released by all of the Banks’ branches.
• The letter of credit processing system has been improved so that the unique identifier which is generated by the customs & trade ministry for a letter of credit to be submitted to customs offices and which is received from the Credit Bureau of Turkey is automatically printed on the letter itself.
• The processing of domestically-issued foreign currency checks has been centralized at all branches.
• The dispatch of retail loan dunning notices and of corporate loan acceleration-clause notices has been centralized at all branches other than those in Northern Cyprus.
• The center has begun sending out retail overdraft account statements.
• For the central bank’s Visual Electronic Check Processing and Clearing System project, Ziraat Bank has initiated trials in which the fronts and backs of checks being sent for clearance are scanned and sent to TCMB. The image quality of these scans has also been improved.
• A project to integrate health-insurance payments for Ziraat Bank retirees, employees, and their family members who are not covered by Ziraat Bank and Halkbank Foundation into the Fintek online system was completed. These payments are no longer being processed manually by the Bank in Turkey.
• Both Turkish-lira and foreign-currency Eximbank Pre-Shipment FX Export Credit processing has been centralized.
• A pilot project has been initiated under which all leases on properties (other than those whose rent is paid against an invoice or receipt) that the Bank rents will be processed by the Operations Center, which will also be responsible for having their payments made on the designated dates.
• A project was initiated in coordination with the International Branch Banking Department under which the foreign trade transactions of Ziraat Bank’s foreign branches will be processed by the Operations Center. As a first step in this project, the required technical infrastructure was installed at the Jeddah, Athens, Tbilisi, Arbil, and Baghdad branches and the center is now able to process foreign trade transactions coming from them.

The unchallenged leader of the sector with the Turkish banking industry’s most extensive branch network, Ziraat Bank also makes intensive and effective use of alternative delivery channels as well.

Superior-quality cash management services and technological solutions
Ziraat Bank offers superior-quality, technology-focused cash management product and service solutions capable of addressing a customer’s every need.

Besides increasing a customer’s effectiveness and productivity, these solutions also enhance their satisfaction with and loyalty to the Bank while helping to lower Ziraat Bank’s operational costs and improve its profitability.

The number of agencies and companies whose bill and other payments Ziraat Bank handles has reached 401. Customers can make such payments conveniently through the Bank’s ATM, online banking, mobile banking, and standing-order channels as well as through its branches.

In 2015 Ziraat Bank processed 98 million collections under its Corporate Collections System on behalf of the agencies and companies that it has entered into agreements with. The total volume of payments processed in this way amounted to TL 117 billion.

The number of firms subscribing to the Ziraat Bank Direct Debit System (DBS) reached 260 in 2015. The total volume of payments processed in this way amounted to TL 1.6 billion last year.

The scope of Ziraat Bank’s DBS cash management services was expanded by equipping the system with card-reading capabilities. Thanks to new software that allows terminals to check a dealer’s DBS limit:

• A firm’s sales are guaranteed,
• Invoices are automatically forwarded to the Bank,
• Collections are made through the Bank.

Other Ziraat Bank cash management services provided last year included payment and electronic check & note collection solutions tailored according to a customer’s particular requirements, private school tuition fee collections, account activity integration, web-based online transactions, and cash pooling and collection services.

Operations at Ziraat Bank

Payments and Collections

EFT/RPS
During 2015, 25,438,413 EFT (electronic funds transfer) and RPS (retail payment system) messages worth a total of TL 3,232,103,996,194 were sent from Ziraat Bank while it received 34,895,338 such messages worth a total of TL 4,146,497,859,657 from other banks.

Western Union
As a member of the Western Union system, Ziraat Bank sent 147,584 money orders worth a total of USD 77,181,699.33 and received and paid out USD 459,410,304.73 on a total of 651,478 money orders. Ziraat Bank branches booked commission fees totaling USD 6,064,365.96 for having processed these transfers.

Insolvent T. İmar Bankası TAŞ payments
Ziraat Bank processed TL 225,461.62 worth of transfers to one firm and 26 individuals while also paying another TL 1,848,602.97 to 213 individuals within the scope of insolvent T. İmar Bankası T.A.Ş between 1 January and 31 December 2015. This account still showed a net balance of TL 12,128,941 payable to customers as of the latter date.

TTH
In 2015 Ziraat Bank made TL 179,719 worth of payments related to the liquidation of the Savings Encouragement Fund to 260 people.

KEY
In 2015 Ziraat Bank made TL 1,154,738 worth of payments related to the liquidation of the Home-Ownership Fund to 8,561 people.

Ziraat Bank processed 410 bankruptcy court warrants under which it remitted TL 34,297 to authorities.

Agricultural support payments
In 2015 Ziraat Bank processed 4,137,228 agricultural support payments worth a total of TL 9,170,657,949. The Bank also offset TL 1,366,412,429 of revenue losses arising from loans extended by itself and the Central Union of Agricultural Credit Cooperatives of Turkey.

Social Security
Ziraat Bank processed 56,476,412 social security and monthly pension payments worth a total of TL 67,517,488,698 and another 790,258 of such payment amounting to EUR 323,550,464 in 2015.

Other Operational Activities

Computerization of customer signature specimens
Between 1 January and 31 December 2015, 2,098,873 customer signature specimens were incorporated into the online system.

Scanning and computerization of customer ID documentation
Between 1 January and 31 December 2015, 4,248,750 pieces of customer ID documentation were incorporated into the online system.

Investigation reports
Eighty-six original or cc’d investigation reports were examined covering issues subject to the oversight of the Branch Operations Department. Ninety-five instructions were sent to regional or branch managers’ offices concerning issues involving statutory/regulatory compliance and/or payments to depositors.

Alternative Delivery Channels

The unchallenged leader of the sector with the Turkish banking industry’s most extensive branch network, Ziraat Bank also makes intensive and effective use of alternative delivery channels as well.

At end-2015 there were 6,566 ATM units in operation in Ziraat Bank’s network, an 8.66% increase over the previous year’s number. The number of deposit-accepting units in the network reached 4,347.

As of the same date, 6.3 million Ziraat Bank customers had made use of its online banking services in the last twelve months. This corresponds to a 64% year-on rise over the previous year’s 3.8 million.

In 2015, the number of Ziraat Bank customers making use of its mobile banking channel increased by 154% from 404 thousand to 1.03 million.

Online appointments improve branch efficiency
Ziraat Bank continued to explore ways in which to come up with solutions addressing customers’ needs through the more effective use of its alternative delivery channels in 2015. Last year the Bank introduced an appointment system which allows customers who use mobile devices to make an appointment and reserve a queuing number at a convenient date and time at whatever branch they want before they actually arrive there.

In 2015, Ziraat Bank maintained its position of a primary dealer in the Turkish Government Debt Securities market. The Bank ranked second, as measured by total transaction volume in the Borsa İstanbul Debt Securities Market, for which performance it was awarded by the exchange.

Treasury Management and International Banking

Proactive balance sheet management focusing on funding optimization
For several years now Ziraat Bank’s balance sheet management has been focusing on:

• Making it more customer-weighted
• Strengthening its shareholders’ equity through improvements in profitability
• Augmenting a funding structure that is still predominantly funded by a broad depositor base with the addition of long-term, low-cost non-deposit funding.

The ratio of loans to total assets in Ziraat Bank’s balance sheet increases while the share of the marketable securities portfolio continues to fall. Even as the latter does however, the portfolio is extensively used both for trading purposes and for Turkish lira and FX repo contracts in order to enhance the effectiveness and flexibility of the Bank’s balance sheet management.

Ways other than repo in which Ziraat Bank seeks to diversify the structure, lengthen the maturity, and reduce the cost of its funding include syndicated loans, bilateral lending agreements, funding from IFIs, Eurobond issues, and a global medium term note program. Besides ensuring that the Bank has access to the funds it needs to finance its balance sheet assets, funding diversification also balances the Bank’s risk exposure and contributes to its profitability.

Continuing to manage its marketable securities portfolio in line with its core strategies in 2015, the share of both Turkish-lira and foreign-currency securities in total securities portfolio was reduced from 26.1% in 2014 to 21.4% in 2015.

A designated primary dealer in the Turkish government debt market, Ziraat Bank continued to successfully maintain that position in 2015. The Bank played an active role not only in the primary market but also in secondary markets, where it traded on behalf of its own customers as well as for national and international financial institutions. As a result of such trading last year the Bank ranked second, as measured by total transaction volume in the Borsa İstanbul Debt Securities Market, for which performance it was awarded by the exchange.

Ziraat Bank’s FX trading was up by 29% year-on in 2015.

Syndicated loans diversify Ziraat Bank’s strong funding capabilities
In 2015 Ziraat Bank conducted its third syndicated loan. Forty-one banks from 19 countries took part in the syndication when it was undertaken in April. Coordinated by Bank of America Merrill Lynch International Limited, the deal secured for Ziraat Bank a total of USD 1.1 billion in two tranches, one with a 354-day maturity at 6-month LIBOR/EURIBOR + 0.70% and the other with a 367-day maturity at 6-month LIBOR/EURIBOR + 0.80%.

Ziraat Bank will be using this funding in its ongoing efforts to effectively support its customers through the increasingly broader and more diversified range of foreign trade finance products and services that it offers.

GMTN Program limit increased to USD 4 billion
In line with its efforts to diversify its resource structure and to lengthen its borrowing maturities, Ziraat Bank’s Global Medium Term Note (GMTN) Program limit was increased and updated to USD 4 billion on 2 April 2015. Under this program, which makes it possible to issue notes in different currencies and at a variety of maturities, Ziraat Bank secured USD 637.7 million and EUR 137.7 million worth of funding in 44 international private placements which were undertaken during the remainder of the year.

Ziraat Bank’s funding management approach and the increasing importance of saving
Ziraat Bank’s liability-management strategy is rooted in the principle of diversifying and deepening its non-deposit resources on the one hand while concurrently expanding its own deposit base on the other. One way in which the Bank seeks to increase both its customer numbers and its broadly-based deposit balance is to encourage saving by offering a wide range of deposit products.

Ziraat Bank believes that, owing in part to changes in the legal framework, the propensity to save among the public at large will increase in 2016 and for this reason the Bank is developing products that will encourage its customers to put their savings to work on a long-term basis. Two of the savings accounts products that the Bank plans to introduce in 2016 are a “Trousseau Account” and a “Home-Ownership Account”. Both accounts qualify for advantageous state contributions if their maturity is at least three years.

The success of “Ziraat Bank Gold Time”
The “Gold Time” program that Ziraat Bank launched in 2013 continued to successfully encourage customers to convert their physical gold assets into gold-based savings products. About 4.2 tons of gold have been brought into the formal banking system as a result of this program.

Ziraat Bank has long been one of the sector’s leading proponents of gold banking. As of end-2015, 12.4 tons worth of gold were held in the Bank’s gold deposit accounts. Ziraat Bank also makes it easy for customers to trade in gold through their investment accounts.

Ziraat Finance Group mutual funds: “There’s one just right for you!”
The Ziraat Finance Group investment funds controlled by Ziraat Bank and its subsidiaries outperformed sectoral growth averages in 2015.

Marketed under the “There’s one that’s just right for you!” slogan, Ziraat Finance Group investment funds are capable of appealing to a broad range of investors with different risk profiles. The group’s stock (equity) fund grew by 30.9% in 2015, a year in which the sectoral average was just 5.4%, and reached a total value of TL 3.18 billion at year-end. During the same twelve months, the ZFG funds’ combined investor base grew from 193,622 to 234,565.

When private pension funds are also taken into account, the investment funds industry grew by 16.7% overall in 2015. The Ziraat Finance Group’s investment funds by comparison grew by 42.1% and reached a total value of TL 4.64 billion during the same period.

Complying with CMB regulations
Another important development in 2015 took place when, in compliance with Capital Markets Board regulations, ten investment funds set up by Ziraat Bank and four investment funds set up by Ziraat Yatırım were turned over to Ziraat Portföy Yönetimi (ZPY), a specialist portfolio management firm.

Under a CMB license that was obtained to provide portfolio custody services, such services are now being provided for twenty-one investment funds belonging to members of the Ziraat Finance Group. The scope of this license is such that ZPY may provide these services for all collective investment schemes, not just those belonging to ZFG members. Fund-management services are also being provided by ZPY to the same twenty-one funds as per the CMB license.

Seven new mutual funds were launched.
In order to diversify the range of collective investment options that are made available to Ziraat Finance Group customers, last year seven new mutual funds were added to the existing lineup. These are:

• A hedge fund
• A fund of funds
• A real estate investment trust equity fund
• A sharia-compliant hedge fund
• A sharia-compliant equity fund
• A sharia-compliant FX fund
• A sharia-compliant lease certificate participation fund.

Of the seven newly-launched funds, the last four were introduced as alternatives for customers who prefer interest-free collective investment schemes.

Safe hands for customers’ assets
The aggregate value of all retail customer portfolios for which portfolio custody services were being provided as of end-2015 was TL 2.89 billion. Similarly the combined value of retail customer portfolios for which Ziraat Portföy Yönetimi was providing general custody services was TL 2,887 million as of the same date.

Turkish Electronic Fund Trading Platform: More effective access to investment funds
Ziraat Bank customers can use their Ziraat Bank investment accounts to trade in the shares of investment funds belonging to other banks, brokerages, and portfolio management companies via the Turkey Electronic Fund Trading Platform (TEFAS), a central electronic platform that is shared by all of the investment funds traded in Turkey. Similarly, investors who are not Ziraat Bank customers can also trade in ZFG investment funds through the same platform.

Continuous, regular investment with a single instruction
Ziraat Bank customers may now issue instructions to purchase shares in all ZFG investment fund on a regular basis, a service that previously was available only to those who placed standing orders to purchase shares in a ZPY fund designed to encourage saving among children. When issuing such instructions, customers may specify what shares are to be purchased in what quantities every month.

Ziraat Bank capital market licenses have been renewed.
As required by CMB regulations, Ziraat Bank applied to that agency to have its capital market licenses renewed. The Bank’s applications were approved at two CMB meetings on 7 December and 28 December of last year. As a result of these renewals, Ziraat Bank is currently authorized to engage in the investment activities and to provide the primary and ancillary investment services indicated below.

Primary investment services and activities that may be performed on behalf of customers:

• Order transmission
• Trading
• Portfolio management
• Limited custody services
• General custody service

Ancillary services

• Capital markets advisory services
• Margin trading services
• FX services
• General investment advisory services
• Brokerage services
• Financial intermediary services
• Wealth management and financial planning services

Strong and sustainable relationships with correspondents, superiorquality service, and high value added products are the fundamental reasons why Ziraat Bank is an increasingly preferred partner in foreign trade finance.

International Relations that Enhance Customer Value

In keeping with its customer-focused business model, Ziraat Bank cooperates with international financial institutions in order to provide its customers with financial solutions which are both appropriate and create value.

As of end-2015, Ziraat Bank had correspondent relationships with about 1,770 banks in more than 130 countries.

Ziraat Bank continuously expands its extensive correspondent network and deepens its bilateral relationships in order to keep pace both with customer demand and with changes and trends in the global economy.

Thanks to the synergistic collaboration that arises from a strong correspondent network, the Bank has the ability to provide global-scale trade intermediation services and to develop bespoke solutions no matter what its customers’ foreign trade finance requirements may be. Strong and sustainable relationships with correspondents, superior-quality service, and high value added products are the fundamental reasons why Ziraat Bank is an increasingly preferred partner in foreign trade finance.

The consistent growth in Ziraat Bank’s share of Turkey’s foreign trade finance remained on course in 2015, with the Bank ranking among the leading players in this business line as of year-end. Ziraat Bank registered about a 30% rate of growth in the number of customers for which it provided foreign trade finance product and service last year and was involved in deals involving more than 150 countries.

Under the heading of foreign trade finance, Ziraat Bank offers products such as letter of credit discounting and endorsed bill discounting. It works closely with such export credit agencies as Hermes, COFACE, SERV, and SACE in order to give its customers access to their medium- and long-term country credit resources.

Global service reach
With branches, subsidiaries, and representatives at 97 locations in 18 countries around the world, Ziraat Bank continues to strengthen its position as the center of a service network whose international reach is more extensive than that of any other Turkish bank.

Ziraat Bank’s broad international service network consists of 9 international subsidiaries, 22 branches, 4 sub-branches, and 1 representative’s office.

Seeking to fulfill their missions of providing high-quality service by undertaking projects and devising new products appropriate to the countries in which they are located, Ziraat Bank’s global service points consist of nine international subsidiary banks and its:

• New York branch (USA)
• London branch (UK)
• Tbilisi branch and Batumi sub-branch (Georgia)
• Sofia branch and Plovdiv, Kardzhali, and Varna sub-branches (Bulgaria)
• Athens, Komotini, Xanthi, and Rhodes branches (Greece)
• Baghdad and Erbil branches (Iraq)
• Jeddah branch (Saudi Arabia)
• Lefkoşa, Girne, Gazimağusa, Güzelyurt, Gönyeli, Akdoğan, Near East University, Karaoğlanoğlu, Karakum, and İskele branches (Northern Cyprus)
• Pristina branch (Kosovo)
• Teheran representative office (Iran)

Overseas Branch Banking

Overseas branch banking activities are carried out in line with Ziraat Bank’s international banking strategies and vision in order to achieve the following aims:

• To increase the number of countries in which the Bank has a presence,
• To contribute to the expansion of commercial and economic ties between such countries and Turkey,
• To play a leading role in trade finance activities with increased market share in those countries.
• To deliver fast, efficient, and superior-quality service to Turkey’s entrepreneurs and firms as well as all other countries in every territory in which the Bank has an operational presence,
• To effectively exploit synergies in keeping with the underlying principles of the Ziraat Finance Group.

Expanding our global reach and effectiveness
Ziraat Bank’s goal is to be Turkey’s and its region’s strongest and most active bank as it continues to exploit the dynamics of developments in global and local markets and to take advantage of business potential and opportunities that arise in every territory in which it has a presence.

2015 developments in Ziraat Bank’s oversees branch banking activities are summarized below.

The Bank’s Pristina branch in Kosovo commenced operations on 8 June 2015. Work is currently in progress to open a second branch in the city of Prizren.

Work is currently in progress to open a branch in Bahrain, which is the first step in Ziraat Bank’s plan to build up a presence in the Gulf Region. This branch is expected to commence operations by midyear 2016.

With an eye on the particular dynamics and needs of London as a financial center, Ziraat Bank’s London branch has been reorganized so as to expand its product and service range and to increase its effectiveness especially in such business lines as secondary market trading, structured finance, and foreign trade finance.

Ziraat Bank’s operations in Bulgaria consist of four branches located one each in the cities of Sofia, Plovdiv, Kardzhali, and Varna. Work is in progress to broaden the Bank’s presence in the country by enlarging the reach of its ATM network and online banking, non-branch, and alternative delivery channels.

In Greece, Ziraat Bank currently has an operational presence at four locations in the form of its Athens, Komotini, Xanthi, and Rhodes branches.

In Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Ziraat Bank’s customer- and market-focused operations are conducted through ten branches, which are giving increasingly greater attention to product line expansion and service quality improvement. Loans to farmers, which were introduced in 2011, have been attracting much attention and reached about TL 63 million in value at end-2015, as of which date total lending to all customers in this market amounted to TL 672 million. Not only are TRNC branches able to provide the same banking products and services as their siblings in Turkey, they also position the Ziraat brand among the country’s leading banks as measured by size and profitability and continue to play an important role in Northern Cyprus’s economic development.

Ziraat Bank’s Tbilisi branch in Georgia first opened its doors for business in 2001. In line with the Bank’s core goal and strategy of increasing the Ziraat brand’s regional clout and pursuing growth in Turkey’s near abroad, a sub-branch was opened in the city of Batumi in 2013. Work is currently in progress to open a third branch, to be located in the city of Marneuli, and it is planned to have it commence operations by midyear 2016.

Ziraat Bank’s Jeddah branch has been in business since 14 March 2011. While providing letters of guarantee for Turkish contractors in the country remains an important business line, the branch is seeking to expand its product and service capabilities in order to satisfy the banking needs of Saudi as well as Turkish corporate and retail customers.

Having first gained a presence in Iraq when it opened a branch in Baghdad in 2008, on 14 February 2011 Ziraat Bank became the first Turkish bank to open a branch in the city of Erbil. Last year Ziraat’s branches continued to play an increasingly greater role in issuing letters of guarantee for Turkish contractors active in the region and in processing money transfers for Turkish companies and nationals in Iraq.

Ziraat Bank believes that its employees should be individuals who are capable of keeping pace with the necessities of the time and open to change and improvement, who are focused to success, who have an affinity for teamwork, and a heightened sense of responsibility.

Human Resources and Training

Ziraat Bank owes its leading position in the Turkish banking industry to its employees. Taking this simple fact as its point of departure, Ziraat Bank manages a human resources policy which puts the employee at its center and whose aim is to let the Bank’s personnel view the future with confidence.

Regarding its employees as the architects of its banking business sustainability, Ziraat Bank fulfills its obligations towards its personnel by compensating them appropriately and equitably and by providing them with modern working conditions and with opportunities for professional and personal advancement.

Believing that its employees should be individuals who are capable of keeping pace with the necessities of the time and open to change and improvement, who are focused to success, who have an affinity for teamwork, and a heightened sense of responsibility, Ziraat Bank supports its personnel throughout their careers in line with its philosophy of constant progress.

In 2015 Ziraat Bank continued to implement the progressive human resources management system to which it has committed itself.

Ziraat Bank human resources highlights

• As of 31 December 2015 Ziraat Bank had 25,697 people on its payroll.
• Ziraat Bank hired 3,486 new personnel during the previous twelve months.
• 86% of Ziraat Bank’s employees have a university bachelor’s degree or higher academic qualifications.
• The average age of Ziraat Bank employees is 34.5; their average length of service is 10.5 years.
• Ziraat Bank has more master’s and doctorate degree-holders on its payroll than any other bank in Turkey.
• Ziraat Bank gives importance to the presence of women in the workforce. According to Capital, a magazine, Ziraat Bank ranks fifth among the top one hundred in a survey of companies in Turkey based on the number of women on their payroll.

Personnel training in 2015

A total of 19,534 Ziraat Bank employees took part in training activities in 2015 with average training time per person amounting to 16.41 hours.

Ziraat Bank engages in an ongoing effort to train its human resources and equip them with the skills required to do their jobs.

Training activities in 2015 were conducted under the following headings:

• “Banking School & Orientation Training”, which is given to newly-recruited personnel to introduce them to the Bank, to help them adapt to its corporate culture, and to equip them with basic knowledge and skills;
• “Management Trainee Program Training”, which is given to personnel who have reached the Authorized level in order to prepare them for management-level positions and duties;
• “Development Training”, which is given to employees sometimes to satisfy the training requirements of the Bank’s goals and strategies and sometimes to inform them about new products and services or about changes in the legal framework, and “Mandatory Training”, which is training given to employees as mandated by law;
• “Licensing & Certification Training”, which is given to employees to help them prepare for national and international licensing and certification examinations.

E-learning: A low-cost and effective training alternative
Besides making it possible to provide more training to more people in less time at a lower cost and without interrupting work schedules, e-learning also means that people can access training materials and resources whenever and wherever it is convenient for them to do so and also proceed at their own pace. In 2015, 136,423 Ziraat Bank employees took part in e-learning activities in support of their regular classroom training. Last year a project was completed to make the Bank’s new training management app accessible to all personnel from both inside and outside the Bank’s premises. Apps that will permit mobile device access to e-learning materials have been developed for the App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android) marketplaces. These are currently undergoing security auditing and are to be uploaded in the near future.

Supporting the bankers of tomorrow with traineeship opportunities today
During the 2014-2015 academic year Ziraat Bank provided professional skills training to 1,064 high school students and 23 university students and traineeship positions at the Bank to 2,294 university students. During the 2015-2016 academic year these numbers were 1,071, 24, and 2,543 respectively.

2015 promotion qualification exams
5,038 Ziraat Bank personnel sat for the 2015 series of promotion qualification examinations, which was conducted in collaboration with Anadolu University.

2015 training statistics are provided in the accompanying chart.

Classroom Training	Number of Employees that Took Part in Training Activities	19,534
	Average Training Time per Total Employees	16.41
	Average Training Time per Employees who Took Part in Training Activities	20.55
Number of Employees that Took Part in E-learning Activities		136,423
Total Cost of Trainings/Last 3 Months (TL)		2,203,255
Total Cost of Trainings/Annual (TL)		4,965,495