• One of the most dynamic and experienced institutions in Turkey created from the successful legal  merger on 2 October 2006, the new Yapı Kredi prides itself on legacy institutions – Yapı Kredi Bankası A.Ş. and Koçbank A.Ş. – that evoke an outstanding history of entrepreneurship, pioneership, innovation, technological leadership and differentiated banking approach going back more than sixty years, to the establishment of the first nationwide private bank in Turkey, in 1944.
  • Established in 1944 as Turkey's first nationwide privately-held commercial bank, Yapı ve Kredi Bankası A.Ş. played a significant role in the country's economic development as well as the improvement of the financial abilities of its people. Koçbank A.Ş. started providing services in 1986 under Koç-American Bank name with one branch with the aim of contributing to the national economy. Koçbank’s founder was Koç Holding, one of the top industrial conglomerates in Turkey.
  • Yapı Kredi merger is the biggest M&A project in the history of the Turkish banking sector. As for the historical background for the merger, exclusive negotiations between Koç Financial Services (KFS – the 50/50 joint venture between Unicredit and Koç Group, which owned Koçbank and other financial subsidiaries) and the Çukurova Group, previous shareholder of Yapı Kredi Bankası A.Ş., that started in January 2005 led to a share purchase agreement that was signed in May 2005 for the acquisition of 57.4% stake in Yapı ve Kredi Bankası A.Ş. (held by the Çukurova Group and SDIF (Saving Deposit Insurance Fund)). The closing took place as a result of the transfer of Yapı ve Kredi Bankası A.Ş. shares to Koçbank on 28th September 2005. In April 2006, KFS increased its shareholding in Yapı ve Kredi Bankası A.Ş. to 67.3% through the acquisition of an additional 9.9% Yapı ve Kredi Bankası A.Ş. shares by Koçbank. Shareholders of both Koçbank and Yapı ve Kredi Bankası A.Ş. approved the merger of the two banks on 21 September 2006 through their Extraordinary General Assemblies. Finally, on 2 October 2006, the legal merger process was completed. Koçbank was dissolved, and all its rights, receivables, obligations and liabilities were transferred to Yapı Kredi. The new combined legal entity retained the Yapı Kredi name.
  • The new combined entity represents Yapı Kredi as a strong franchise with valuable experience and strong reputation gained during a long history for banking innovation as well as Koçbank as a sound and dynamic financial structure with a successful foreign partnership experience. Supported by the competitive advantages of both, the new entity certainly aims to do much more than the mere synergies of two institutions. The new period is aimed at value creation and undisputed leadership in all fields of activity where there is future growth potential.

Yapı Kredi

Koçbank

Yapı Kredi earned a deservingly outstanding reputation in the Turkish banking sector through its pioneering steps, its banking innovations offered to customers, and its leadership that enabled the sector to achieve a contemporary position. For over 60 years, the Bank has enjoyed a reputation for quality and trust, leading the sector in professionalism and performance and ranking as one of the most advanced technologically.

Yapı Kredi passed many milestones since its foundation, playing a significant role Turkey’s economic development,  alongside its cultural and social initiatives. During this time, important changes took place at the Bank in response to the modernization and growth of the economy. Thoughout all these changes, the Bank adhered to its corporate motto “A Dedication to Deliver” by providing its customers the banking services of the highest quality.

As Turkey’s deepest rooted private bank and strongly recognized retail franchise, Yapı Kredi introduced many firsts and landmark achievements in the sector leveraging its technological leadership and differentiated banking approach:
  • 1967- Yapı Kredi introduced the Turkish banking sector to computers.
  • 1975 - Yapı Kredi became the first bank to be authorized to hold a foreign currency position in Turkey;
  • 1983 - Yapı Kredi established the first Turkish off-shore bank in the Middle East.
  • 1984 - Yapı Kredi implemented the first online banking system between its branches.
  • 1985 – Yapı Kredi launched the most prominent corporate banking services under the name of Wholesale Commercial Banking.
  • 1986 - Yapı Kredi became the first Turkish bank to issue bonds and certificates in the international capital markets.
  • 1991 - Yapı Kredi initiated the first telephone banking service in Turkey
In addition, Yapı Kredi, through further investments in the 1990s, developed its services infrastructure and modernized its corporate structure, human resources, education systems and market strategies, to better suit the requirements of an increasingly technologically-driven environment. Within this framework, each of the alternative delivery channels, gathered under the umbrella of Unlimited Banking, were re-designed individually to meet customers’ expectations.

Yapı Kredi Bankası introduced Turkish consumers to consumer loans, credit cards, account access cards, ATM's and various investment products during the years of significant acceleration in the banking sector.

Implementations such as the point system (redeemable bonus rewards) and shopping in installments with credit cards also stand among the firsts introduced by Yapı Kredi. The Bank revolutionized the credit market in Turkey by introducing Turkey’s first revolving credit card in 1988; launched Turkey’s leading credit card platform “World” in 2002, maintaining its leadership position since then.

Control of Yapı Kredi was transferred to SDIF in 2002 due to the problems of its former shareholder Çukurova Group that arose following BRSA’s triple-audit process in the aftermath of the 2001 financial crisis in Turkey.

 Koçbank was founded in 1981 as the American Express Bank, based in Istanbul. Koç Holding acquired a 51% stake in the bank in 1986, renaming it Koç-American Bank, and in 1992 the bank became a wholly owned subsidiary of Koç Holding, and was renamed as Koçbank A.Ş. It grew to be one of the most important institutions in the sector with its young history and its financial subsidiaries established in a short term to address the financial needs of its customers.

Following the decision of the Koç Group to expand in the financial sector, Turkey’s first financial holding company, Koç Financial Services (KFS), was established in March 2001 as a management company and all the financial companies owned by the Koç Group, including Koçbank, were united under this umbrella.

One of the most significant developments of the restructuring phase that started with the foundation of KFS was the establishment of a strategic partnership with UniCredit (UCI), a leading international banking group of Italian origin present in 20 countries. In October 2002, the Koç Group and UniCredit signed a partnership agreement and became 50/50 shareholders in KFS; making KFS the first foreign partnership to be established in the financial sector in Turkey. Both shareholders agreed on the aim of strengthening and developing the position of KFS to become one of the leading financial groups in Turkey.

Koçbank A.Ş. started to operate at European standards under the shareholding of UniCredit; one of the largest, most profitable and productive financial groups in Europe and the Koç Group; Turkey's industrial and services giant.

Under the management of UniCredit and Koç Holding, Koçbank underwent a significant restructuring process and grew organically. By 2005, Koçbank had reached over 170 service points, and developed its own expertise in private banking and asset management, and corporate and commercial banking for leasing and factoring companies.

In 2004, Koçbank implemented a focused strategy of initiating new projects and operations to increase its service quality, to provide the best service to its customers and to increase its market share through real banking activities and a sales-oriented structure. Dedicated service models targeting each segment were developed and operational transactions in branches were reduced through the centralization of operations with the aim of developing a strong sales structure.

As one of the first banks to offer the private banking service in Turkey, Koçbank opened private banking centres in 2004 and 2005 and improved the quality of its private banking service thanks to experienced and technically equipped teams. Whilst offering its customers many new products in private banking (Çalışan Hesap, Akıllı Paket, Akıllı Plus Paket, Okullu Paket, Pusula etc.), it also started to offer comparatively advantageous loans to address different needs of its customers (Home, Home Improvement, Car, Motorcycle, PC, Personal Loans etc).

Koçbank differentiated itself by its effective cost and risk management as well as restructuring and profitability track record.

 


  • Koç Group and UniCredit further deepened their commitment for growth in Turkey by acquiring, through KFS, Yapı Kredi. Acquisition of Yapı Kredi and its subsequent merger with Koçbank are the result of Unicredit’s and Koç Group’s shared vision in Turkey’s long-term growth prospects as well as their strategic focus on growth in the financial services sector.


  • Following the merger in October 2006, 80.2% of Yapı Kredi was owned by KFS while minorities’ stake in the Bank was 19.8%. Following the completion of the share exchange between KFS and Yapı Kredi in October 2007 for the transfer of the shares owned by KFS in YK Leasing, YK factoring and YK Azerbaijan to Yapı Kredi,the ownership of KFS in Yapı Kredi increased to 81.8% while the minorities share has changed to 18.2%.


  • The merger provides a unique opportunity by uniting the strengths, experiences and resources of two strong and long-established institutions in the Turkish financial sector. Today, Yapı Kredi has become a powerful new force in the sector with the right size and scope to offer the very best in financial services to its customers embracing the history and common values of both institutions. The overall integration process was completed by the end of 2006, allowing Yapı Kredi to operate at full speed starting from 2007.


  • Following the legal merger, Yapı Kredi is positioned as the fourth largest privately-owned commercial bank by asset size in Turkey, with leading positions in credit cards, assets under management, leasing, factoring, private pension funds and non-life insurance. The combined KFS Group’s financial services network, through its over 5.9 million active customers(1) and 858 branches(2) across the country, constitutes a premier franchise in retail, corporate commercial and SME banking offering a broad range of banking products including credit cards, asset management, leasing, factoring, insurance and brokerage.

(1) Bank-only
(2) Group branches. Bank: 791 branches


Updated as of 1H08