Founded in 1944 as Turkey’s first private bank with a nationwide presence, Yapı Kredi has always played an important role in the development of the national economy and in the growth of individuals’ financial strength; it has set standards in the Turkish banking sector with innovative products and services.

A pioneer in retail banking and innovation and the driving force of financial services in Turkey, Yapi Kredi has introduced many firsts in the banking sector leveraging its technological leadership and differentiated banking approach.

  • 1967: Introduced computerisation to the Turkish banking sector
  • 1980s: Introduced personal loans, credit cards, debit cards, automatic teller machines and a variety of investment products in Turkey
  • 1984: Introduced the first online banking program between branches
  • 1985: Laid the foundations of today’s corporate banking products and “wholesale commercial banking” services
  • 1986: Became the first Turkish bank to issue bonds and certificates in international capital markets
  • 1988: Introduced Turkey’s first credit card “with credit” and offered the first personal loans in Turkey
  • 1989: Provided the first auto loans in Turkey
  • 1991: Launched Turkey’s first telephone banking service and introduced the credit card bonus point system
  • 1995: Became the first bank in Turkey to receive the ISO 9001 Quality Certification
  • 2002: Launched the first GSM POS application in Turkey
  • 2004: Became the first bank in Turkey to reward customer value in a systematic fashion through “Benim Param” (My Money), a loyalty program able to meet all banking needs of retail customers from a single application
  • 2006: Successfully completed its merger with Koçbank, one of the largest mergers in the Turkish banking sector
  • 2008:
    -Launched the “World Share Program”, Turkey’s first donation platform that accepts credit card points and emphasised the contribution of credit cards to social responsibility projects.
    -Launched “guaranteed funds,” which guarantee the return of invested capital - a first in Turkey.
    -Introduced Turkey’s first barcode-based bill payment system through ATMs, providing everyone, whether a Yapi Kredi customer or not, with the opportunity to pay bills quickly and easily by cash at Tele24 Plus stations and Yapi Kredi ATMs that have the capability to scan barcodes on the statements

Merger

Yapı Kredi’s merger with Koçbank in October 2006 provided a unique opportunity by uniting the strengths, experiences and resources of two strong and long-established institutions in the Turkish financial sector (Koçbank and Yapı Kredi). Today, Yapı Kredi is 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.

Please see below for further details on the merger:

The largest in the history of the Turkish banking sector, Yapı Kredi merger dates back to 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 Bankasi A.S., that started in January 2005 and led to a share purchase agreement that was signed in May 2005 for the acquisition of 57.4% stake in Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi A.S. (held by the Çukurova Group and Saving Deposit Insurance Fund). The closing took place as a result of the transfer of Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi A.S. shares to Koçbank on 28th September 2005. In April 2006, KFS increased its shareholding in Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi A.S. to 67.3% through the acquisition of an additional 9.9% Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi A.S. shares by Koçbank. Shareholders of both Koçbank and Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi A.S. 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.

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%.

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, factoring, private pension funds, leasing, life and non-life insurance. Yapı Kredi, through its over 6.0 million active customers(1) and 836 branches(1)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


Update based on 9M09 results