Being the largest privately-owned investment bank in Turkey, we continue to materialize remarkable accomplishments thanks to our business manner with no precedent in the industry, as well as our innovative approach.

Dear Stakeholders,

Being the largest privately-owned investment bank in Turkey, we continue to materialize remarkable accomplishments thanks to our business manner with no precedent in the industry, as well as our innovative approach.  We are proud to create employment in more than 10 business lines, where we serve, and also to reach out our 10 million customers in every aspect of life by means of the productivity, we have been enhancing by making use of our resources optimally, and also our fintech subsidiaries, each of which is a leading player in its market. 

Besides, we not only maintain our business as the most comprehensive financial technologies ecosystem in Turkey, but also provide contribution for the preference of the foreign investors in Turkey as well as the integration of our country with the world economy as based on the global business partnerships at various industries. We raise the bar in all circumstances, thanks to our digital business manner, flexible structure, effective business partnerships, our appetite towards the "distinctive" as well as our innovation.

Even during 2020, which had a course different than those of the previous ones due to the impact brought by the pandemic, our bank has not only introduced various innovations but also reported an increase at the size of the assets by approximately 20 percent as compared to the previous year-end. Being the bank with the highest return on equity in Turkey, we achieved to report 100 million dollars of pretax profit on consolidated basis in 2020. 

With our 12 branches serving all across Turkey, we are mainly focused on corporate banking, investment banking and private banking that require one-on-one communication. We are maintaining our approach to serve productively and effectively in branch banking thanks to the private banking branches we have opened in Ankara and Bodrum during the course of the pandemic.

Thanks to the investment banking model, we have been pioneering in Turkey, we are introducing various new capital market instruments and thus breaking new grounds in such field. Recently, we materialized a remarkable instrument in terms of sustainability by ensuring that the electric power is accessible not only by more individuals but also by means of a robust infrastructure by means of our YEDAS issuance that provides funds to the electricity distribution companies for their investments. The credit rating for such issuance was assessed as AAA by JCR Eurasia Rating. 

We, as Aktif Bank, stand by our customers not only in Turkey but also in the most challenging geographies.  We go beyond banking in challenging geographies thanks to the unique approach we have been delivering in foreign trade.  In 2020, we provided intermediation for a trade volume of 308 million dollars between Turkey and Africa through our 284 correspondent banks in the African continent.  Also, just in 2020, we included 289 new exporters, carrying out business in Africa, in our portfolio.

In respect of the retail banking, our bank and subsidiaries provide service to 18 percent of the retail customer market thanks to the effective business partnerships, innovative business models and digital channel investments.  In line with our target to offer the most ambitious and the most innovative product range in the industry, we work hard for the purpose of making the customer experience plain, rapid, perfect and efficient.  We are maintaining our growth by being a bank with a robust technological infrastructure and which has not only enhanced such infrastructure internally but also made it harmonized with the digital world and managed to pierce our customer's heart at all times.

By means of N Kolay, our digital bank, we, as Aktif Bank, are committed to achieving excellence in customer experience, and we are nourishing the world of"N Kolay"with new products and services. We have added the N Kolay FX and investment funds into the N Kolay Mobile application, we have materialized with the N Kolay Bond, our digital investment product addressed to retail customers from all income groups, and we are formulating our strategy for incorporating the transactions for trading equities by means of such application in the upcoming period. We will further enrich N Kolay, our digital bank, in a short span of time, and transform it into a sweeping platform that offers all financial services covering a wide variety including loans, investments, payment systems and daily account transactions.

During the recent months, we accomplished another distinctive achievement in the industry under the umbrella of N Kolay. Thanks to the indiBindi mobile application, we have developed for such purpose, the residents of Istanbul are now able to make use of contactless payment by means of the QR code. In the upcoming period, we are planning to add some new functions into such service, as well.

Our Bank also supports the Istanbul Marathon as being its title sponsor with N Kolay, its digital bank which facilitates the life and meets the needs of the individuals rapidly at any time and anywhere without a branch. Thus, we are bringing the dynamism and equitable, lean service model of the N Kolay brand, together with the spirit of Istanbul Marathon, which is one of the top-ranking marathons in the world. We support not only sports but also culture and arts, and we are sponsoring the Istanbul Film Festival, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, as a "Contributing Organization", and we are sponsoring the IKSV Theatre Festival as a "Highly Contributing Organization", with N Kolay, one of our brands. Our support for the cultural and arts events in the city is not limited only with N Kolay, one of our brands; and we are providing contribution for the IKSV Music Festival with our Aktif Bank Private Banking brand.

We are bolstering up the collaboration with IKSV, we have started with the ticket sales through our Passo platform, by means of the sponsorships we provide through other brands of us by supporting such remarkably content-rich festivals, for which the cinema, theatre and music circles are keen about, on yearly basis.

With the Passo mobile application, which is another actor of our digital world, we provide readily access not only to the matches but also all events varying from concerts to theaters. We continue to sell tickets through the Passo for the events that are started to be held online due to the pandemic.  We are constantly developing the Passo application, and diversifying the advantages, we offer at the stadiums, with the opportunities such as 7/24 money transfer by QR, shopping and instant loan. Thanks to Passolig, which is the key for security and comfort at the tribunes, our Bank not only provides support for the football clubs but also offer opportunities and privileges to the supporters.

UPT, one of our subsidiaries which achieves our leadership in the field of financial technologies in payment systems, blazed the trail once again, and started to execute all money transfer transactions, whether domestic or international, of our customers digitally by means of UPTION, the mobile application it has launched. On the other hand, N Kolay, a paying agent, which is another leading subsidiary of us operating in such field, established a notable collaboration with the Sok Supermarket Chain, which serves at more than 7 thousand points, by means of the integration accomplished for such purpose.

PAVO, another subsidiary of us which sells one of each 4 smart POS, continues to provide support actively to its commercial customers through the POS devices by means of the value added application and software integration over 120 thousand.

We remain as the leader in the industry in the field of pension payments by extending our collaboration with PTT, the channel where we continue our ambitious growth. Our Bank, which is involved in a joint-venture with SECOM, the leading Japanese company in the field of security technologies, is also engaged in two remarkable partnerships with Mitsibushi, a Japanese technology giant.   By means of the partnership, we have entered into with SECOM, we provide end-to-end customized security technologies service not only to individual users but also to the corporate firms, by employing a turn-key project model.  Our Bank introduces the VeinID-Five technology, which is capable of reading the vein patterns within the hand of an individual, to Turkey by uniting their power with Hitachi and Mitsubishi Corporation for the purpose of developing technological solutions in cyber security and biometric authentication. We, as Aktif Bank, are committed to enabling such solutions be used in the fields that would facilitate the daily life both in our country and also the neighboring countries. Workindo, which is a career platform exclusive to the building industry and established by us in partnership with Mitsubishi and Calik Energy, is also committed to becoming a digital platform that brings all stakeholders in the industry together by offering end-to-end solutions to more than 100 thousand members, it has reached out in a short span of time.  

Thanks to our visionary initiatives, effective business partnerships as well as our subsidiaries, each of which creates the difference in its own field of activity, we will continue to remain as the leader not only in banking but also in the financial technologies ecosystem.

We are committed to reinforce our position in the ecosystem, upgrade our innovative banking model to the upper version and also carry it beyond the national borders by acting both as the competitor and the business partner of the financial technology companies.

As based on our vision to provide our customers with the best experience and facilitate the access to the financial services at all times, we, being Aktif Bank and its subsidiaries, will work hard to create permanent values for our country, economy and the society.

Yours Truly,

Aysegul Adaca