28%
TOTAL FINANCING VOLUMES WITH LOANS STOOD AT TL 394 BILLION IN 2017 WHILE OUR CASH LOANS INCREASED BY 28% YOY IN 2017.
With a balance sheet volume of TL 434 billion, Ziraat Bank stands as one of Turkey’s most important assets. It continues its banking activities within the framework of extending resources to support the development of our country and deploying these resources in the most appropriate areas.
Maintaining our momentum in loans in 2017 by supporting high value added investments.
Total financing volumes with loans stood at TL 394 billion in 2017 while our cash loans increased by 28% YoY in 2017. In this framework, we focused on housing loans and loans for small and medium-sized enterprises in 2017.
The volume of our agricultural loans reached TL 52 billion. Thanks to the well-placed establishment of the agricultural value chain with our new business model, we continue to contribute to the industrialization of the agricultural sector.
In the area of CGF loans, we followed a widespread disbursement strategy and provided financing support to the largest number of businesses. The volume of CGF backed loans made available for small and medium-sized enterprises reached TL 20 billion. We have already extended such loans to approximately 110,000 customers to date.
Having accounted for more than half of the increase in housing loans of the sector, the Bank increased its market share in housing loans in the sector to approximately 25%. Ziraat Bank single-handedly extended more than half of the housing loans in the sector during the year.
The “Bankkart”, which we designed as a bank card and a credit card on a single card, will be made available to our customers in the first quarter of 2018. In the short to medium term, we will maintain our market leadership in bank cards and maintain our efforts to transform our credit card brand into a platform.
Every day, we are working on improving our structuring, which provides financing for our country and even for the some of the world’s most important and largest projects, as well as for widely issued loans, such as retail and SME loans. We have financed a number of important projects such as Istanbul’s 3rd Airport, the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, the Osman Gazi Bridge and the Gebze-Izmir motorway. In addition to these projects, some of which have already entered operation, we also aim to finance new projects.
While we continue to expand our broad-based deposits, we continue to provide funds from abroad. We renewed our USD 1.1 billion syndication loan in 2017 and issued two new Eurobonds amounting to USD 1.1 billion, one with a 5 year maturity and the other with a 6 year maturity. In addition to international financial institutions and banks, we have provided USD 600 million from China.
We aim to provide our customers with faster and safer services by expanding our investments in digital banking.
We offer the most extensive branch network in Turkey with 1,759 branches. While we provide services from our branches, in which we are increasing our efficiency and effectiveness, we continue to develop our non-branch channels within the framework of digital banking. We aim to provide easy access to financial services by meeting the financial needs of our customers with a smart infrastructure through a wide array of channels.
With the most comprehensive ATM network in the sector, we are also the leading bank in this field. Thanks to our ongoing internet and mobile banking investments, we are striving to strengthen our competitiveness in the banking sector by increasing our operational efficiency.
THE “BANKKART”, WHICH WE DESIGNED AS A BANK CARD AND A CREDIT CARD ON A SINGLE CARD, WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO OUR CUSTOMERS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2018.
We will continue to expand our international organization by increasing our efficiency and effectiveness in the regions where we offer services.
We successfully reflect our restructured business model to the services we provide in our international service network. We converted our branches operating in Georgia into an affiliate bank with the title of JSC Ziraat Bank Georgia, which is owned by our bank. We took a strategic step in relation to our affiliate in Uzbekistan, while in October we purchased a 50% stake in our partner and we are carrying on our activities under the name of Ziraat Bank Uzbekistan JSC, which is 100% owned by Ziraat Bank. We will continue to establish a presence in regions where we identify opportunities, and expand our international organization, by initially increasing our efficiency and effectiveness in the places where we are operating.
By reinforcing the strength derived from our past with the support of our customers, we carry our quality forward with the aim of being the most successful bank in the sector for years to come.
Our Bank is determined to build on its success in the coming years. In doing so, it will continue to be a bank that provides a better service to its customers, is more efficient, contributes more to the real sector and the economy, pioneers new products and services and takes decisions in parallel with developments in the economy.
The devoted contributions of our employees, who have the greatest stake in our achievements, and the confidence that our customers have placed in us are our greatest source of motivation for Ziraat Bank in reaching its new targets. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to them.
HÜSEYİN AYDIN
Member of the Board and CEO
