OUR PRIORITIES

Since 2014, Ziraat Bank has regularly issued sustainability reports in accordance with Global Reporting Initiative's G4 Comprehensive principles.

G4-18

Since 2014, Ziraat Bank has regularly issued sustainability reports in accordance with Global Reporting Initiative's G4 Comprehensive principles, the latest and most comprehensive sustainability reporting standard. Ziraat Bank prioritizes economic, environmental and social topics of importance for its corporate structure and stakeholders.

Identifying Material Topics

The annual Ziraat Bank sustainability report does not cover Ziraat Bank's partnerships. The report features information on Ziraat Bank's operations, impact and stakeholders' expectations. In the implementation of GRI G4 Comprehensive principles, the below mentioned GRI guidebooks were used as a reference:

https://www.globalreporting.org / resourcelibrary / Turkish-G4-Part-One.pdf

https://www.globalreporting.org / resourcelibrary / Turkish-G4-Part-Two.pdf

In the process of determining material topics, Ziraat Bank made use of

  1. Comprehensive surveys conducted among the Bank's unit managers and personnel who represent internal stakeholders;
  2. Analyses of feedback received from external stakeholders via a variety of channels throughout 2015;
  3. Conclusions drawn from discussions with international financial institutions and rating agencies;
  4. The results of desk-based work carried out by the Ziraat Bank Sustainability Project Team.

Internal stakeholders' opinions were collected by means of a comprehensive survey conducted among the Bank's unit managers and personnel.

G4-19

Sustainability Reporting in Light of Stakeholder Expectations

The views of external stakeholders (customers, suppliers, international stakeholders, et al.) were taken up at meetings with representatives of the Bank units that are in regular communication with such groups during the service cycle. At these meetings, the findings of items 2 and 3 in the list above were discussed and stakeholder priorities were ascertained accordingly. These priorities identified through different channels were taken up in connection with GRI G4 elements, and their impact inside and outside the Bank was determined.

As a result of this prioritization analysis, topics that Ziraat Bank and its stakeholders deemed to have material relevance were identified and ranked in order of their significance to them. This information was then used as input for the creation of the 2015 priority matrix.

Authoring its reports in line with G4 (Comprehensive) principles, Zİraat Bank prioritizes economic, environmental and social topics of importance for its corporate structure and stakeholders.

Ziraat Bank 2015 Sustainability Priorities you can zoom in/out the squares by clicking

**HIGH

 

Ziraat Financial Services Group

Increased international recognition

Increased brand value

Diversified deposit base

Geographical reach – high customer access

Diversified product portfolio

Support to the agricultural sector

Safeguarding customer data

Market and customer focus

Banking products and services

Customer satisfaction

Corporate governance and risk management

  • -Sustainability management
  • -Fairness
  • -Transparency
  • -Reliability
  • -Compliance with laws, rules and regulations
  • -Tax payment
  • -Prevention of terrorism-financing
  • -Prevention of corruption and bribery
  • -Prevention of money laundering

Executive remuneration

Assessment of suppliers

Human rights

Service accessibility

Regulatory engagement

Business model – Short-term value creation

Business model – Long-term value creation

Financial soundness of customers

Renewable energy

Diversity and equality

Working conditions

Prevention of money-laundering and terrorism-financing

Occupational health and safety

IT infrastructure

Alternative delivery channels

Provision of services to SMEs and entrepreneurs

Working hours

Payments to suppliers

Waste and energy

Energy use

Local hiring

Employee participation

Employee welfare

Paper consumption

Representation of men and women on governance bodies

Relations with regulatory authorities

Training and development

Employee remuneration

Equal remuneration of men and women

LOW

HIGH*

*The topic's impact on Ziraat Bank's current and future performance

**The topic's importance to Ziraat's stakeholders

In Ziraat Bank's prioritization analysis market and customer focus, banking product and service diversity, customer satisfaction, international brand recognition and geographical penetration rank highest.

Our sustainability project team successfully realized the correction process of prioritization analysis and subsequent processes in 2015.

G4-20, G4-21

Correction Process

Our sustainability project team successfully realized the correction process of prioritization analysis and subsequent processes in 2015.

Material topic framework

Ziraat Bank considers the material topics identified as a result of its 2015 prioritization analysis in three different categories according to their significance and impact. The topics in the first category are the most important issues affecting Ziraat Bank's current and future performance. These are:

  • Market- and customer-focus, banking product and service diversity, customer satisfaction, increased brand value and international recognition, geographic reach and extensive customer access, which have a direct effect on Ziraat Bank's future performance and competitive position,
  • Support for agriculture as embodied in Ziraat Bank's mission,
  • Safeguarding customer data,
  • It is corporate governance and risk management including sustainability management.

The topics in the second and third categories are issues whose significance and priority may vary from one stakeholder to another. For instance:

  • A high priority issue for Ziraat Bank is the services that we provide to SMEs and entrepreneurs, all of which are of utmost importance to the Turkish economy.
  • While new investment in IT infrastructure and alternative delivery channels is extremely important for Ziraat Bank and its customers, other external stakeholders deem it to be of relatively low priority.
  • Topics such as employee participation, employee welfare, employee training & development, employee remuneration, and the like are very significant to personnel, who make up one of Ziraat Bank's most important stakeholder groups; however, they are of relatively less importance among external stakeholders.
G4-23

During the reporting period 2015, there were no changes in Ziraat Bank's operational framework significant enough to warrant informing the stakeholders.

Concordance between material topics identified in the Ziraat Bank 2015 Prioritization Analysis and GRI G4 topics

Market- and customer-focus, banking product and service range diversity, customer satisfaction, increased brand value and international recognition, geographic reach and extensive customer access, diversified deposit base G4 EC, SO, FS
Support for agriculture, provision of services to SMEs and entrepreneurs G4 EC, SO, FS
Safeguarding customer data G4 SO, PR
Corporate governance and risk management including sustainability management G4 SO
Development of IT infrastructure and alternative delivery channels G4 EC, SO
Financial soundness of customers G4 EC, SO
Renewable energy G4 EN
Ziraat Finance Group G4 EC
Access to services G4 SO
Participation in legislative/regulatory development processes G4 SO, PR
Business model: Short- and long-term value creation G4 EC
Employee participation, employee welfare, employee training & development, employee compensation G4 LA, G4 HR

Zİraat Bank gives primary priority to develop mutual respect and transparency-based relations with the stakeholders.

G4-24, G4-26, G4-27

Ziraat Bank's Stakeholders

Ziraat Bank encourages stakeholder participation in its operations - defined as the "value chain" - and views its primary stakeholder groups as the shareholder, employees, customers, and suppliers. The Bank engages in interactive communication with its primary stakeholders in order to assess their demands and expectations efficiently. In addition to these primary stakeholder groups, Ziraat Bank conducts regular communications based on transparency and mutual respect with other stakeholder groups such as regulatory authorities, international banks, investors, rating agencies, the media, industry associations and organizations, and society at large.

  Stakeholder group Contact frequency Communication channels
Primary Stakeholders Employees Conduct of business – daily                 Recruitment processes, personnel training programs, performance evaluation meetings, internal communication channels, employee-manager meetings, information/communication meetings.
Customers Conduct of business – 24/7 Ziraat Bank branches and alternative delivery channels (ATMs, internet banking, mobile banking, call center), customer relations managers, customer visits.
Suppliers Conduct of business – daily All processes involving the procurement of materials and services from outside Ziraat Bank.
Shareholder General meetings and meetings on other occasions when required General Meeting (annual). Ziraat Bank also engages in a variety of public disclosure activities through its Financial Institutions and Investor Relations Unit, as well as its Financial Reporting and Budget Management Unit. These activities include the publication of annual reports, the conduct of presentations, and Public Disclosure Platform announcements.
Other Stakeholders Regulatory authorities Conduct of business – when required Mandatory reporting, correspondence, and meetings.
International banks & investors Conduct of business – daily Meetings and discussions with representatives of financial institutions such as World Bank, European Investment Bank, overseas funds, investment banks, asset management companies, and the like with which Ziraat Bank cooperates.
Industry associations & organizations Conduct of business – daily Meetings, presentations, day-to-day communications.
Media Conduct of business – when required Press conferences, press releases, interviews, responses to directed questions, and the like in order to ensure transparent and swift communications between the Bank and the public.
Society Conduct of social responsibility projects Corporate social responsibility projects and charitable activities.

In order to identify its 2015 sustainability priorities, Ziraat Bank used feedback and expectations gleaned from its routine interactions with the different groups - such as customers, employees, suppliers and the shareholder - that make up its primary stakeholders and this informed the report's material topics.

G4-15, G4-16, G4-25, G4-27

Ziraat Bank takes the following criteria into account when categorizing its stakeholders:

By dependency

Stakeholders who depend on Ziraat Bank now and
in the future

Customers, employees, et al.

By impact

Stakeholders who have an impact on Ziraat Bank's performance now and in the future

Customers, employees,
suppliers, et al.

By involvement

Stakeholders who collaborate with Ziraat Bank on any matter related to sustainability

Institutions and organizations for which corporate social responsibility projects are being conducted, consultancies, et al.

By accountability

Stakeholders towards which Ziraat Bank is financially and/or legally accountable now and in the future

Shareholder, regulatory authorities, international banks, investors, et al.

By affinity

Stakeholders who interact with Ziraat Bank the most intensively on a long-term basis

Customers, suppliers, et al.

By representation

Stakeholders that Ziraat Bank interacts with in the conduct of its dealings with regulatory mechanisms and with market/social groupings

Industry associations and organizations, the media, et al.

The material issues that emerged in the context of stakeholder engagement are considered and discussed in detail in different sections of Sustainability Report 2015.

Initiatives that Ziraat Bank Takes Part In or Supports

  • BANKS' ASSOCIATION OF TURKEY (TBB) www.tbb.org.tr
  • FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS BOARD (DEİK) www.deik.org.tr
  • TURKISH NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (ICC) http://icc.tobb.org.tr/index.php
  • CREDIT BUREAU OF TURKEY (KKB) www.kkb.com.tr
  • TBB RISK CENTER www.riskmerkezi.org
  • ECONOMIC RESEARCH FOUNDATION www.iav.org.tr
  • INTERNET FRAUD ALARM SYSTEM (IFAS)
  • ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT FINANCE INSTITUTIONS IN MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE ISLAMIC DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADFIMI) www.adfimi.org
  • INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCE (IIF) www.iif.com
  • INTERBANK CARD CENTER (BKM) www.bkm.com.tr
  • INVESTOR COMPENSATION CENTER www.ytm.gov.tr
  • ISTANBUL MINE AND METAL EXPORTERS' ASSOCIATIONS www.immib.org.tr
  • EASTERN ANATOLIA EXPORTERS' UNION www.daib.org.tr
  • INTERNATIONAL PROJECT FINANCE ASSOCIATION (IPFA) www.ipfa.org