2020 was a year dominated by the global Covid-19 pandemic and its serious social and economic impacts, along with the heightened uncertainty.

14 millionAs of the end of 2020, the number of Ziraat Bank’s active digital banking users was registered as 14 million.

Valuable stakeholders,

2020 was a year dominated by the global Covid-19 pandemic and its serious social and economic impacts, along with the heightened uncertainty.
Lockdowns and the restrictions put in place to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic have nearly brought social life and economies to a standstill all over the world. With the impact of the pandemic, rules requiring isolation and social distancing have been introduced around the world and in Turkey, ways of doing business have changed and new models have emerged such as remote working and transferring training to a virtual environment.

Many sectors in Turkey adapted to this situation very rapidly. A combination of the technological means which our institutions and companies possess and our country’s young working population have been among the factors to have helped facilitate this process.

As an open economy, global economic developments have affected the Turkish economy and our industry.

The unprecedented conditions brought about by the pandemic have enabled our Bank to test its operational resilience and technological infrastructure in what is the key to adapting to the “new normal”.

As of the end of 2020, Ziraat Bank has been continuing to provide qualified and high-quality banking products and services to its customers from its 1,752 domestic and international branches and 24,673 personnel, along with the facilities supported by its technological and operational infrastructure.

In 2020, Ziraat Bank further strengthened its position in the banking sector with a successful performance derived from the benefit it provides to the country’s economy and its customers.
Ziraat Bank registered 45% growth in its asset base in 2020, with its total assets reaching TL 943 billion.

The momentum we have achieved in loan growth in recent years continued unabated in 2020. Accordingly, the total cash loans extended by the Bank increased by 34% compared to the previous year to reach TL 601 billion. When combined with non-cash loans, the Bank’s total lending volume exceeded TL 740 billion.

Sector leader Ziraat Bank maintains its pioneering role in financing agriculture, with a market share of approximately 65%.

Covid-19 has once again brought home the importance of IT in the world.
In order to protect its customers and employees from the Covid-19 pandemic, Ziraat Bank has implemented a large number of digital solutions to keep the contact to a minimum. Our Bank pressed ahead with its projects to digitalize branch processes and to use digital channels more effectively. Significant progress has been achieved in the digitalization of the head office processes and this initiative is still continuing.

Ziraat Bank facilitates the lives of its customers with its digital channels offering a wide diversity of more than 400 transactions, enabling customers to perform banking transactions easily and quickly. With an innovation launched this year, we offered our customers the opportunity to benefit from Ziraat Mobile’s advantages by using the biometric data inside their national ID cards as a verification method.

Keeping in mind the opportunities it will provide mainly to the banking sector, we will continue on our efforts to integrate the national ID card into our processes in all channels.

With its user-friendly and comprehensive content, Ziraat Mobile has made money transfers easier and faster. With the “Easy Address” application which we introduced in 2020, our customers were able to carry out money transfers quickly and easily, while with the FAST (Instant and Continuous Transfer of Funds) System, these transfers could be performed on a 24/7 basis. Our customers have the ability to carry out quick, contactless and easy payments via FAST by scanning the QR code provided by the business office with their mobile devices when purchasing goods and services.

The Ziraat Finance Group Mobile Application was launched so employees could access in-Bank applications from their mobile devices. With the application, Covid-19 notifications could be received, offering a significant advantage in taking action and monitoring processes quickly.

As of the end of 2020, the number of the Bank’s digital customers had reached 24 million, while the number of active digital banking users was registered as 14 million. In the near future, we will probably not be using the definition of digital banking anymore. The concept of digital will be banking itself and banking will entirely be done digitally.

Ziraat Bank has continued to support the real sector and the households during the pandemic to maintain uninterrupted economic activity.
Ziraat Bank has designed products which would enable corporate customers who have been directly or indirectly affected by the pandemic to continue their economic activities and to finance their basic requirements under preferential conditions.

In this context, the Bank offered products such as İşe Devam (Carry on Working) Loan Support Package, the Cheque Payment Support Package and Employment-oriented Working Capital providing KGF-guaranteed lending opportunities within the framework of the Treasury-Backed Guarantee System, extending loans in this context to support micro businesses and the tourism sector, including restaurants and cafeterias catering to tourists.

Within the scope of the “Economic Stability Shield Package” introduced by the Government, Ziraat Bank launched the Individual Basic Requirements Support Loan for our individual customers. In this context, loans up to TL 10,000 were extended with 36-month payment terms and a grace period of 6 months. Furthermore, Ziraat Bank also offered financing under appropriate conditions through the Second Hand Vehicle Support, Social Life Support and Vacation Support loan packages in order to support a transition towards normalization and a return to social life.

In all financing support packages, we attached more priority on reaching a large number of customers rather than the size of the loan, in order to provide effective financing that would contribute more to the economy through widespread loan extensions.

Continuing its uninterrupted financing support for the agricultural sector, Ziraat Bank extended a total of TL 80 billion in loans from its own resources to finance the agricultural sector in 2020, with the number of loan customers approaching 700,000. 35% of the agricultural loan portfolio consists of investment loans, as we also implement practices aimed at increasing the added value of agriculture and solving structural problems in addition to financing agriculture. We offered our customers financing packages with affordable conditions in areas which included contracted production, modern irrigation systems, agricultural mechanization, green housing, animal husbandry, domestic cultivation of strategic plants which are currently imported intensively and the supply chain of agricultural productsfinancing the supply chain of agricultural products.

We also carry out social projects in agriculture together with universities like Ziraat Bank Young Farmer Academy; and with governorships like Köyümde Yaşamak İçin Bir Sürü Nedenim Var (I Have Many Reasons To Live In My Village) projects. Ziraat Bank maintains its pioneering role in financing agriculture, with a market share of approximately 65%.

In addition to the contribution provided by the newly designed products, we also contributed to economic activity within the scope of “Financial Restructuring - FR” to support customers who were struggling with their operating cycles or in managing their cash flows due to temporary reasons, through facilities such as restructuring or delays to their repayment instalments which were handled with sensitivity due to the special situation during the pandemic period.

This year as well, Ziraat Bank has successfully completed its syndicated borrowing, being provided from international markets since 2012.
In April 2020, Ziraat Bank secured a USD 1.1 billion syndication loan with the participation of 38 banks from 22 countries. With a 367-day maturity, this loan was the Bank’s eighth consecutive syndicated borrowing transaction from international markets used to finance foreign trade.

Despite the volatility in global markets brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, the cost of this loan was lower than was in the previous year, and the size of the credit once again confirmed the confidence in the Turkish economy and in Ziraat Bank. With this funding we secured, our Bank will continue to support the real sector through foreign trade transactions, which are particularly important for our economy.

Continued expansion in the number of service points abroad
Ziraat Bank, which boasts the widest presence of any Turkish bank abroad, maintains its presence as a global bank from 113 locations in 18 countries through its foreign bank and branch network.

Providing services related to financial technologies in addition to banking services to the regions it operates in, Ziraat Bank also contributes to the financial sector in these regions.

The “Most Loved Bank” in Turkey’s Lovemark Survey, for a fifth year in a row
The innovative practices and exemplary work launched by Ziraat Bank in 2020 have generated increasing value for both the Turkish economy and the banking sector, and these achievements have gained recognition at home and abroad, bringing a clutch of awards to Ziraat Bank.

In 2020, Ziraat Bank was chosen as the “Most Loved Bank” in Turkey’s Lovemark Survey, receiving the same award for a fifth consecutive year.

With its strong position in the market, Ziraat Bank is focused on being an institution which reflects the opportunities offered by the financial sector to its performance in the most resolute way, which is based on the benefit provided to the country’s economy and customers, and which puts its signature on the best practices.

Our Bank received recognition with the Banking Technology and Best Retail Bank of Turkey awards in the 2020 awards handed out by the Global Banking & Finance Review magazine for progressive and inspiring innovations which stand out in excellence in the global banking and finance industry.

Ziraat Bank will continue to manage positive or negative developments which may arise in the future as well as providing the necessary resources and support to promote Turkey’s development.
We perpetuate change and transformation continuously without deviating from our traditional ties; we aim to gain a place in the hearts of our customers as well as their memories with our practices which add value to their lives.

With its strong position in the market, Ziraat Bank is focused on being an institution which reflects the opportunities offered by the financial sector to its performance in the most resolute way, which is based on the benefit provided to the country’s economy and customers, and which puts its signature on the best practices.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to our employees, who play a key role in Ziraat Bank’s performance with their corporate and professional competencies, to our customers for their trust in us, to our business partners who always stand by us, and to our correspondents.

Hüseyin AYDIN
Member of the Board and CEO