Halkbank ,Atasehir, Istanbul, Turkey: Osman Arslan, General Manager

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Total 650 words used.

Pioneering the development of Turkish banking sector for 84 years Halkbank has become one of the steadily growing, well-established, pioneering and respected brands of emerging Turkey. SMEs in Turkey grow with the support of Halkbank which is the leader in SME Banking. Halkbank is among the most efficient banks in the sector in terms of return on equity as operating, Halkbank provides service in every corner of Turkey with 1,018 branches and 4,082 ATMs.

Osman Arslan, who has been serving as the General Manager of Halkbank since 8 June 2017, is also a Member of the Board of Directors of the bank. With the ladership of Mr.Aslan, Halkbank increased its total assets by 32.5% to 901.2 Billion TL in 2021, has offered advantageous financial support packages, loans and products to its customers from every segment, and aims to contribute to the country's economy by supporting customers who is affected by economic conditions.

Tradesmen, entrepreneurs and SMEs are among the most economically affected by the devastating effect of the pandemic. For this reason, Halkbank, which is a pioneer in SME loans with a market share of 19.5%, increased its support to SME customers in this challenging period by transferring 48.3% of its commercial loans to SMEs.

New Brand Communication Strategy: “We are the People First, then the Bank”

Inspired by the name Halk(people)-bank, Halkbank renewed its main brand communication strategy and slogan in May 2020 in order to emphasize its way of doing business that puts the needs of its customers first, starting out with the vision of standing by its customers in good times and bad times. 

2021 Halkbank Focus Areas:

Halkbank defined 4 strategic focus areas for 2021:
Supporting Women’s Entrepreneurship
Creating Value for the Local Economy
Climate Change and Sustainability
Digitalization
The Halkbank Value Model was developed to cover all these strategic focus areas and the governance model. This model was matched with the United Nations Sustainability Principles.

Support for Entrepreneurs and Women Entrepreneurs Ecosystem:

Halkbank undertakes to carry out activities in addition to providing financial support packages for development of entrepreneurship in Turkey. Halkbank executes public awareness activities, trainings and meetings with broad participation.

Environmental Awareness and Sustainability Approach:

Halkbank adopts Sustainability and Environment policies as a corporate strategy and  takes operational measures to mitigate climate change risks, strives to continuously improve its emission reduction performance, reduce energy consumption by increasing energy efficiency, and minimize the waste resulting from its operations.

Digitalization:

Halkbank aims to provide easier and faster service to its customers by using opportunities provided by technology.

Creating Value for Local Economy:

Halkbank carries out many projects to encourage and support domestic producers, and prefers domestic resources for its own purchases.

Despite the negative effects of pandemic, Halkbank's support to its customers and Turkish economy had a positive impact on financial results. Halkbank increased its total assets by 32.5% to 901.2 Billion Turkish Liras in 2021. 

In addition to leading the bank in its financial activities, Osman Arslan also attaches importance to environmental and social responsibility. Besides sponsoring numerous Social responsibility and sustainability projects, Arslan also takes part personally in all projects of the bank.

With the leadership of Aslan, Halkbank accomplished many “firsts” in the industry:

Halkbank set out with the mission of developing and encouraging women entrepreneurs and established the Women Entrepreneurship Department in 2021, a first in the banking sector in Turkey and in the world. Producing Women Meetings were organized to encourage women all over Turkey, and successful women entrepreneurs were rewarded with the Producing Women Competition

Halkbank is the first Turkish bank to set up ISO50001 Energy Management System and the first Turkish bank to receive a Zero Waste Certificate. Halkbank also joined Net-Zero Banking Alliance(NZBA) by was United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative(UNEP FI)

Halkbank is the first Turkish bank honoured with “IBA-Company of the year” award in banking category(2021).

Total 134 words used.

Osman Arslan stands out as a leader that carries the bank forward with his support for entrepreneurship and women's entrepreneurship, his vision of social responsibility and social contribution, his focus on digitalization and his approach to support the local economy. Osman Arslan has led the bank's growth from 963 branches to 1018 branches, from 17.000 personnel to 23,000 personnel since he took office in 2017. Arslan increased Halkbank's asset size from TL 305.4 billion at the end of 2017 to TL 901 billion today. It increased its market share in SME loans from 14.5 to 19.5. Halkbank General Manager Osman Arslan was elected as the chairman of the board of directors of the National Association of Development Finance Institutions (ADFIMI) in Islamic Development Bank Member Countries in June 2022.