İŞBANK ANNUAL REPORT 2014

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ACTIVITIES
İŞBANK ANNUAL REPORT 2014 39
» » USD 25 million is to be used to finance
agricultural loans in Turkey’s priority
development regions under the Turkey
Agribusiness SME Financing Facility
(TurAFF);
» » USD 12.5 million is to be used to finance
SMEs owned or managed by women
entrepreneurs under the Women in
Business Programme (WiB).
Cross-Border Banking Operations
As part of the Bank’s cross-border banking
operations and global growth strategy,
İşbank focused on establishing a presence
in the markets that have intensive
economic and commercial relationships
with Turkey, with a special emphasis on
those located in nearby regions. İşbank
aims to use its extensive and deep banking
experience to provide customers with high
quality service, especially in the markets
where Turkish companies actively operate.
In 2014, the Bank explored opportunities
in Azerbaijan, the Balkans, the Caucasus,
Central Asia and Middle East markets.
With the inauguration of the Arasta-Nicosia
Branch in 2014 as the 16th branch location
in the T.R.N.C., İşbank maintained the title
of being the bank which operates the
widest bank branch network in T.R.N.C. In
addition, with the openings of branches
in Baghdad/Iraq, Tbilisi/Georgia, Prizren/
Kosovo and Edmonton-London/UK in 2014,
the Bank became operational with two
branches in each of these countries. By
year’s end, İşbank conducted operations
in 14 countries abroad with a total of
57 branches, including 17 Frankfurt-
based İşbank Germany branches and 15
Moscow-based İşbank Russia branches,
and two representative offices. At end-
2014, İşbank’s international organizations
reported total assets of USD 8.9 billion,
shareholders’ equity of USD 331 million,
net profit of USD 82.5 million and 882
employees.
Alternative Distribution Channels
İşbank’s leadership in alternative
distribution channels is verified by its
figures.
In 2014, İşbank maintained a sector leading
position in Turkey with the largest domestic
and foreign ATM network; during the year,
the Bank increased the number of ATMs in
operation by 11%, to a total of 6,300 ATMs.
The difference in the number of ATMs
between İşbank and the closest peer is
about 2,000 units.
İşbank customers using Bankamatiks
climbed to over 8 million; meanwhile,
customers using Internet Banking rose
to 2.3 million and users of Mobile Banking
rocketed to 1.5 million, up 100% from the
previous year.
The numbers that the Bank has achieved
and the wide variety of transactions
available in alternative distribution channels
contribute to the increased accessibility of
financing throughout the country.
World-first applications from İşbank
In 2014, significant changes continued
to took place in mobile technology that
affected the habits and behavior of
individuals. In response, İşbank carried on
efforts during the year to consolidate the
Bank’s leading position in this area. İşbank
launched İşCep Intel Identity Protection
Technology, İşCep Login via “Touch
ID”, money withdrawal from ATM’s via
“Smart Glasses” and banking applications
specifically developed for the Xbox One
console. Each of these applications is a
“first” in the world. İşCep Intel Identity
Protection was named the “Best New
Product/Service of the Year” at the Stevie
International Business Awards 2014.
İşbank obtained new funds from international financial
institutions to meet the financing needs of its customers.
İşbank strives to create exceptional customer
experiences, by adding intelligence and
foresight to customer interactions with the
support of advanced technology. In pursuit of
this goal in 2014, the Bank constituted action
scenarios for the immediate determination
and elimination of problems experienced by
customers in accessing the Bank’s channels.
Two of these scenarios were implemented
using big data technologies.
Innovations in Internet Banking
To improve the customer experience at
the Internet Branch, İşbank removed the
password from the login process. In addition,
the Bank implemented design changes to
facilitate the convergence of digital channels.
Studies to increase the transaction diversity
of the Consumer and Commercial Internet
Branches and İşCep continued at the Bank.
User-friendly web site:
İşbank renewed its corporate web site, as
well as its credit card, frequent-flyer program
and mortgage web sites in order to provide
a user friendly and convenient platform
with a trending look & feel. Rather than
having a separate mobile web site, isbank.
was designed in a responsive manner
where the web site can be accessed and
navigated easily on all browsers and devices.
One of the most outstanding features of
is customer recognition. By
identifying the customers who has at least
once signed into the internet branch, it is
possible to understand their segments,
product ownership information and location,
and provide customer specific offerings and
banners. Additionally, İşbank implemented
functionality that enables the recognition
of customers as per their segments and
locations, and offers up product/service
proposals. In 2014, the renewed home
page of the Bank was deemed worthy of
Stevie International Business Awards, Web
Awards, W3 Awards, Davey Awards and the
Interactive Media Awards.