Ziraat Bank realized a number of investments covering new projects and ideas for achieving the targets it has set in line with its six fundamental strategic priorities.

WE REMAIN THE COMPANION OF OUR CUSTOMERS WITH OUR PASSION NURTURED FOR 156 YEARS…

Ziraat Bank passionately carried on with its transformation journey and kept producing value for its customers and our country in 2019.

The Bank, together with its domestic and foreign subsidiaries, put into life numerous novelties to cater to the financial needs of the real sector and households holistically under the Ziraat roof. Carrying on with its transformation journey under its six fundamental strategic perspectives, the Bank kept working to make life easier for its customers.

STRATEGIC PRIORITYCustomer-Oriented Robust Balance Sheet

As the balance sheet of Ziraat Bank becomes increasingly customer- and real sector-focused, expense items are being optimized with high technology use and leaner processes in accordance with efficiency principles.

In 2019, Ziraat Bank renewed its syndication loan participated by 44 banks from 22 countries. Originally obtained in 2013 in the amount of TL 700 million in line with the target of diversifying non-deposit funding sources and increasing the Bank’s market share in foreign trade financing, the facility constantly grew in amount and reached the present time. The Bank secured a syndication loan in the amount of USD 1 billion 425 million in 2019.

In the reporting period, the Bank realized a bond issuance through private placement of USD 110 million under the GMTN (Global Medium Term Notes) program with the aim of fund diversification.

Ziraat Bank will continue to support the real sector and the savings balance of our country with the funds it supplies.

In Turkey, the amount of gold which is considered “under the mattress” is anticipated to be 2,200 tons (USD 100 billion) at a minimum. In order to recover these values for the economy and transform the individual savings into individual gains, Republic of Turkey Ministry of Treasury and Finance carried out “Gold Bonds” and “Gold-Based Lease Certificates” issuances and redemptions through Ziraat Bank.

STRATEGIC PRIORITYCustomer-Oriented Business Model

Ziraat Finance Group focuses on establishing sustainable relationships that create value in a service model that aims to ease the lives of its customers.

In 2019, Ziraat Bank continued to understand its customers’ financial needs to develop the right solutions, and to offer products and services that make life easier.

Standing by its customers also through the rough times they have, Ziraat Bank introduced the Merging Consumer Loan product for customers experiencing hardships in repaying their credit card debts. This product allows retail customers to merge all their credit card debts at terms that suit their income.

To help expand the savings base of our country and to enable customers to derive high returns in the face of inflation, Inflation-Indexed/Interest Protected Deposit Account and Inflation Protected Deposit Account products were introduced.

Inflation-Indexed Housing Loan was offered to help customers become home-owners at the most favorable costs and at the time of their choice, without postponing their existing needs for a home.

Extending support to agricultural production, Ziraat Bank introduced:

• Greenhouse Farming Loan Package designed for increasing agricultural production in greenhouses, installation of new greenhouses, recovering idle greenhouses for the economy, and modernization of existing ones,
• Loan Package for Livestock Establishments Growing their own Forage intended to encourage livestock establishments to grow forage crops for fully or partially fulfilling their own needs for forage and/or to use pastures for the same purpose,
• Soy Bean, Corn and Sunflower Loan Package to promote the production of heavily imported strategic vegetal product items.

İVME (Advanced, Productive, Indigenous Industry) Financing Package was introduced to support the real sector, which entails the working capital loans that producers of raw materials/intermediate goods, producers of machinery, and buyers of domestic machinery will need for their new investments and in the post-investment period.

Aiming to support domestic production, collaboration was established with automotive brands undertaking production in Turkey, and Domestically Produced Vehicle Loan Packages were introduced.

A loan package was offered under the name Employment-Oriented Working Capital Loan to firms having the potential to provide additional employment with the aim of providing healthy and sustainable contribution to the existing employment so that the national economy can grow and develop consistently.

Ziraat Bank continued to enrich the services delivered to customers through digital channels. The Bank developed Digital Loan, a product allowing customers receiving their salaries from the Bank to take out a loan without making a trip to the branch. In addition, the customers can now approve their consumer loan agreements with digital authorization inside the branch. Also developments have been completed which will enable digital approval of OGS (Automated Pass-Through) Sales, Bankkart Application, Private Pension Application, Ziraat Mutual Account Opening agreements as well.

In order to ease life for its customers, Ziraat Bank made available new channels and applications for tax payments. 20 new collection and payment options were put into life through branches, ATMs, Internet Banking, Ziraat Mobile, SMS, the Call Center and OPİ-Operational Innovation.

Ziraat Bank began accepting cards bearing the MIR logo, expanding the set of accepted cards that included TROY, VISA, Mastercard and UnionPay.

Launched in 2018 to increase the Turkish youth’s interest in agriculture, and to raise them as educated and conscious individuals about agricultural production and investments, Ziraat Young Farmers Academy began offering greenhouse and sheep breeding education after dairy cattle breeding in 2019.

STRATEGIC PRIORITYProcess Excellence

Ziraat Bank continues to improve its processes in order to bring ease to lives of its customers and employees, and to generate value through its productivity oriented business model.

Continually upgrading its value proposition processes with optimum resource utilization principle, Ziraat Bank carried out process improvements also in 2019.

Ziraat Bank has expanded the uses of Robotic Process Automation (RPA); while 40 processes are being performed by robotic software, 14 other projects are in the pipeline at the Bank.

Ziraat Bank constantly improves its processes in line with the targets of simplifying and centralizing operational processes so as to free up more time to be allocated to customers and reducing and digitalizing back office operations. Accordingly, the Bank made the following introductions in the reporting period:

• All foreign trade processes were centralized and commercial/SME branch employees in charge of foreign trade were transferred to the head office.
• Transactions, which will be hypothecated in favor of the Bank to collateralize land purchase, enterprise acquisition, etc. in commercial loans, were included in the e-lien process.
• E-lien creation notification was introduced, which is designed to create lien through electronic approval. Transactions subject to notification can be electronically sent to the relevant title deed directorates.
• Lien releasing was moved to the electronic environment, which allows releasing simultaneously with the central approval.
• Agricultural Fund-Sourced Loans were centralized and Agreement Entry, Disbursement/Debiting, Updating, Follow-Up/Restructuring steps began to be performed from the head office.

In an effort to improve central operational processes, the Operational Innovation initiative was introduced, which allows Ziraat Bank customers to send transaction instructions to the Operation Center directly, without branch involvement, while they are logged in for handling their banking transactions.

For providing faster and higher quality service in electronic lien releases, online application was also introduced.

Wildcard Counter Practice was introduced in order to manage the density anticipated at branches according to their financial calendars. If needed, wildcard counters can be assigned in branches, and these employees will be able to undertake transactions from the operation center when they are not working in the branch.

STRATEGIC PRIORITYModern Infrastructure Systems

Ziraat Bank keeps investing in infrastructure to make its processes more technology-intensive.

As part of the banking software transformation project, mid-tier and REST transformation phases were brought to completion in 2019; the project will be completed with the front-end transformation in 2020. In this context, Bank applications already began to be developed on the new infrastructure that was put into use.

Strategic Governance was introduced in order to make sure that the business model and the IT systems run in integration. With this implementation, business units can also select the strategy relationship of the applications they demand to be developed, and the feasibility performed reveals the business value of the related development. The priorities of demands are determined by the scores resulting from the strategy and business value for each demand, and thus, IT resources are utilized efficiently.

Ziraat Bank keeps a close eye on the advancing technology in Turkey and in the world, and backs digital transformation with infrastructure projects, as well.

To pave the way for the utilization of blockchain technology in the finance sector, the Bank took part in the “BiGA Digital Gold” project led by Takasbank A.Ş. (İstanbul Clearing, Settlement and Custody Bank), Turkey’s first known financial blockchain network. The digital asset, which is produced as the equivalent of one gram of gold stored in vaults at the Istanbul Stock Exchange and which is named “BiGA” can be transferred among platform-member banks. Through the developments to be made on their own systems, participant banks that will receive service from the platform will be able to transfer gold holdings among participant banks 24/7.

Initiated as a chatbot project intended to respond to questions employees have in relation to the problems they have during the day, virtual assistant “BİLGE” (The Wise) continues to be developed as an AI and virtual assistant infrastructure integrated with all communication methods on channels and platforms that will be determined by the Ziraat Finance Group. Bilge is intended to offer service to all Ziraat Finance Group employees and customers using machine learning, natural language processing and natural language understanding methods.

STRATEGIC PRIORITYDeveloping Organization

Competence and numeric performance evaluation processes continued in 2019 to drive the development of Ziraat Finance Group employees in line with the strategies.

These implementations began to be expanded throughout foreign subsidiaries and branches as well.

Ziraat Finance Group employees received numerous awards once again in 209 with the innovations they have introduced. According to brand index results of Social Brands, Ziraat Bank was named the most efficient bank on social media in the banks category at the Data Analytics Awards in 2019, in a repeat of 2017 and 2018 results.

Ziraat Bank was a runner up owing to its successful initiatives and projects in customer experience, loyalty, data analytics and workforce turnover and was entitled to the Best International Project award. At the same time, Ziraat Bank has been the only Turkish company to represent our country in the award ceremony and to be presented an award.

While working to contribute to our country, Ziraat Bank also targets to preserve its place in its customers’ hearts. In Turkey’s Lovemarks survey, Ziraat Bank was named Turkey’s Lovemark in the banks category once again in 2019, as was the case in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Ziraat Bank received an award in the Business Life Transformation/Employee Interaction Initiative category at the Financial Innovation Awards 2019 organized by The London Institute of Banking and Finance for its initiatives aimed at considering customer/employee complaints and suggestions in process improvement activities.

The enterprise architecture methodology the Bank developed was crowned with an international award, and was given the Most Innovative Digital Transformation Project award at the Global Banking & Finance Awards 2019.

STRATEGIC PRIORITYZiraat Finance Group

In order to offer a complete package meeting the financial needs of Ziraat customers, Ziraat Bank continues to generate integrated solutions with its banking subsidiaries, overseas branches and finance companies.

In 2019, work and initiatives continued to provide integrated financial solutions to Ziraat customers and to centralize Ziraat operations.

The process for merging public banks’ portfolio management companies within the scope of the New Economic Program was completed during 2019.
Under the said program, Platform Ortak Kartlı Sistemler A.Ş. was co-established by public banks in September. In line with the target of setting up a national rating agency, the process was initiated for acquiring shares in JCR Eurasia Rating Agency in partnership with banks and associations. The incorporation of Birleşik İpotek Finansmanı A.Ş. is underway, which will be co-owned by banks and associations.

Business model standards were established to equalize the service level of all subsidiaries and overseas branches by employing the same business model, and compliance of each member of the Ziraat Finance Group with these standards began to be measured. The system is also subject to the performance system and the criteria applied for the system are constantly updated, thus guaranteeing continuous improvement of the business model at the same standards by the Group companies.

Having designed a technology-intensive business model, the Ziraat Finance Group’s initiatives continued for upgrading the banking software of its foreign banks and overseas branches. These initiatives are carried out using domestic solutions and with the consultancy of Ziraat Technology, and the knowledge thus accumulated can also be transferred to other countries.

Revamping is underway for the websites of all subsidiaries and overseas branches to align them with the Ziraat Finance Group corporate identity.

The payment systems infrastructures of the Group banks are being upgraded and the front-ends of mobile/internet banking are being revamped based on the consultancy being received from Ziraat Technology. Ziraat Bank makes the know-how and experience at its disposal available to all Group banks.