More than a hundred projects, each one unique yet nevertheless compatible with every other and conducted under 27 main project groups, are all informed by six basic premises.
Principle 1: One-to-One Customer Relationship Management
One of the main goals of the Bank is to build up a sustainable and value enhancing relationship with its customers, who are the Bank’s most valuable asset. The principle of the shift from a “product customer” approach to a “Bank customer” approach, which started in 2012 and which is targeted to meet this goal, was successfully carried to higher levels in 2013 as the shift from “product customer” to “Ziraat customer”. Aiming to listen to and understand our customers’ financial needs, and accordingly to offer them the right value propositions, the Bank’s infrastructure was updated in terms of structure as well as systematic bases in 2013. Along this line;
Principle 2: Corporate Risk Appetite
The main criteria of credit risk management at Ziraat Bank can be listed as the effective transfer of lending policies to the field, the establishment of a shared credit culture at all branches and the effective monitoring of credit risk.
Within the framework of the efforts to establish enterprise risk appetite, the Bank launched major decision support systems in 2012 including the “Retail Loans Assessment Module”, the “SME Assessment Module” and the “Company Assessment Module”. In 2013, new features were added in order to improve the systems.
To complement the quick and accurate lending evaluation capability, efficient monitoring and collection practices were brought into service.
Lending processes were set up and implemented to bring about more efficient management of the lending process and to meet customers’ needs more rapidly.
Principle 3: An Efficient Information Technology and Operational Infrastructure
2013 was an important year for Ziraat Bank with a number of important steps taken in the information technology area.
One of the Bank’s main goals in 2013 was to alleviate the operational work load of the branches, thus creating a structure more oriented towards customer needs. As such, transactions carried at the operations center, which was opened in 2012, were diversified and further actions were taken in order to improve workload management of the branches.
Studies taken under the aim of bringing about the automation of transactions conducted at branches, regions and headquarters continued. As a result of these efforts, 2,207 employees were transferred from operational positions and given sales responsibilities instead in 2012 and 2013. Of this total, 1,172 of the reassignments were due to improvements in systems and 1,035 were due to improvements in operations.
The efficiency boosting processes at the Bank and the efforts to set up quality management systems will continue in 2014.
In an effort to efficiently rollout technology, IT infrastructure and facility transformations are ongoing, aimed at the smooth implementation of all operations and the securing of cost advantages. As such, all IT equipment at the end of its useful life has been renewed, while LAN and IP centralization projects have been implemented and broadened. The measures will be finalized in the first quarter of 2014.
Principle 4: Objective and Transparent Human Resources Management
In accordance with Ziraat Bank’s HR policy which places people at the heart of what it does, it is of the utmost importance that employees work in positions which suit their competencies and where they can enjoy job satisfaction. To this end, the Bank moved from the title based vertical organizational structure to the job position-based horizontal organizational structure in 2012. In 2013, promotions were awarded on the basis of employees’ talents and competency, as well as the results of exams they had taken. Certification training was also provided to the employees.
Efforts are in progress to identify the potential of staff and to assess their performance objectively. The work in relation to the Individual Performance Appraisal System was completed in 2012 and became available for branch employees to use in 2013. As part of the empowering of costumer focused business model, the scope of marketing and efficiency focused working principles will be widened. In order to increase employee loyalty through motivational methods and reward individual success in line with corporate targets, the performance management system will be widened to head office departments. Integration studies of the head office departments started in 2013 and are expected to be completed in 2014.
As a matter of transparency principle, all forms of updating and revision are announced to all employees. Internal communication channels were introduced in 2012 in the “Together toward the Target” project, to keep employees informed of updates and changes. Through the “Together toward the Target” sharing platform and weekly bulletin, employees are able to obtain information regarding projects. The “Together, to the target” sharing platform can be accessed through the Bank’s internal information sharing portal. By using this channel, employees are able to share their thoughts regarding projects, access important information and receive immediate news regarding projects. Every Tuesday, employees receive the “Together toward the Target” e-mail bulletin, which provides information on changes and innovations which took place in the previous week. Studies for an employee suggestions system, where employees will provide suggestions, were initiated in the last quarter of 2013 and are expected to be finalized and put in place in the first quarter of 2014.
Principle 5: Robust Shareholders’ Equity
Ziraat Bank works according to the qualitative majority principle, rather than one based on absolute majority, in an aim to achieve sustainable profitability and growth. Efforts towards this goal continued in 2013.
In order to add more value to our country and to be a Bank which mainly finances the real sector, the ratio of deposits that were converted into loans has also been increased, as well as the share of loans by reducing the share of securities in the balance sheet, which has paved the way for sound lending ratios. Efforts in this direction will continue in 2014.
In order to decrease liability side costs, non-deposit resources have been diversified. To this end, syndication loans have been taken out and bank bonds and bills issued.
Principle 6: Integrated Shareholding Management
The shift from a “product customer” approach to a “Bank customer” approach, which was initiated in 2012 as a part of the “Together, to a Better Future” project was completed with the infrastructure put in place in 2012. In 2013, Ziraat Bank’s main goal was to shift its approach from “Bank customer” to “Ziraat customer”, so that all the financial needs of its customers could be met under the Ziraat Finance Group umbrella.
The subsidiaries’ and international branches’ organizational evolution projects have been ongoing since the second quarter of 2013. The process of adaptation to the “Ziraat Customer” approach at the subsidiaries and branches in 15 countries – the TRNC, Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Russia, Iraq, Turkmenistan, the USA, the UK and Saudi Arabia – which started in 2013, is expected to be completed in 2014. Projects addressing the following issues were launched under the Ziraat Customer Business Model for bank subsidiaries & affiliates and for its branches in fifteen countries in 2013:
It is planned to complete these projects in 2014, thereby also putting the finishing touches on the global transformation of the Ziraat Finance Group.
“Together toward the Target” in the 150th year
In 2013, Ziraat continued its journey of transformation, “Together toward the Target” and put every effort in being “More than a Bank” in its 150th year of operation.