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By News Centre

Ziraat Bank, Türkiye's largest lender, increased its financial support for the Turkish economy in the third quarter of 2026, maintaining a cautious balance-sheet management strategy and a selective lending policy amid geopolitical uncertainty and rising global interest rates.

Continuing its Turkish lira-focused balance-sheet strategy, the bank expanded its total assets to TL 10.1 trillion. Its net profit reached TL 124.5 billion in the first nine months of the year, strengthening its equity base through an efficiency-oriented business model.

During the same period, Ziraat Bank increased its cash loans, which account for the largest share of its assets, to TL 5.5 trillion, while non-cash loans rose to TL 2.2 trillion. This brought the bank's total financing support for the economy to TL 7.7 trillion.

Approximately 84% of its cash loans were allocated to financing the real sector, while Turkish lira-denominated loans accounted for 65% of total cash lending.

Despite macroeconomic conditions putting pressure on asset quality, the bank maintained a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 2%, significantly below the banking sector average of 3%. Ziraat Bank attributed this performance to effective customer- and sector-based risk management throughout the lending process, from loan origination to monitoring.

As a strategic financial partner of Türkiye's agricultural ecosystem, Ziraat Bank continued supporting investments aimed at improving agricultural productivity, mechanisation, agro-industrial development and food security.

The bank also continued expanding access to financing for female and young farmers. By the end of September, outstanding loans extended to 77,000 female farmers had reached TL 91 billion, while financing provided to 152,000 young farmers totalled TL 249 billion.

Ziraat Bank also maintained comprehensive financing solutions for family-owned agricultural businesses and cooperatives, reaffirming its commitment to supporting producers under different economic conditions.

The bank's deposit base, which serves as the primary source of balance-sheet funding, increased to TL 6.5 trillion. Turkish lira-denominated deposits accounted for 61% of total deposits.

Although funding costs remained elevated throughout most of the third quarter, Ziraat Bank said it managed deposit costs effectively.

Leveraging its strong access to international financial markets, the lender continued diversifying its funding structure by bringing non-deposit resources obtained from abroad into the Turkish economy.

Through its subsidiaries and overseas branches, Ziraat Bank operates across Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, the Caucasus, Africa and Asia.

Its international network comprises 129 service locations in 21 countries, contributing to Türkiye's presence and influence in international financial markets.

The bank said its international operations primarily focus on supporting Turkish businesses in their global activities, providing financial services in markets where they operate and strengthening economic and trade relations between Türkiye and its international commercial partners.

Commenting on the bank's third-quarter 2026 financial results, Ziraat Bank General Manager Alpaslan Çakar said the period was characterised by tighter global financial conditions and persistent energy-related risks.

"Global financial conditions tightened during the third quarter, while energy-related risks remained elevated. Within the framework of Türkiye's domestic economic programme, funding conditions began to ease gradually from late August," Çakar said.

He stressed that the bank had maintained lending quality while expanding its operations and financing support.

"As the leading bank in the sector, we maintained our credit quality while growing. Through our selective lending policy and robust risk management infrastructure, we kept our NPL ratio significantly below the sector average while increasing financing for the real economy, particularly agriculture," he said.

Çakar added that the bank's extensive deposit base and international funding resources had enabled it to expand its balance sheet while maintaining a balanced funding structure.

He also highlighted Ziraat Bank's international network, saying the lender remained committed to supporting Turkish businesses wherever they operate around the world.

The CEO pointed to the bank's newly published Climate Transition Roadmap, which establishes specific targets for supporting customers' green transformation.

He also referred to Ziraat Bank's activities at the COP31 United Nations Climate Summit, where it served as a main sponsor. These included panel discussions, cultural and civilisational partnership initiatives, activities at its exhibition stand and the signing of new financing agreements.

According to Çakar, these initiatives represented important steps towards supporting sustainable development.

As Ziraat Bank approaches the 163rd anniversary of its establishment, Çakar highlighted its achievement of becoming the first Turkish bank to exceed TL 10 trillion in total assets.

He described the milestone as the result of the institution's long-standing experience and accumulated expertise.

Looking ahead, Çakar identified several factors expected to shape the Turkish banking sector over the medium and long term.

These include anticipated financial normalisation as the disinflation process advances, the transformation of banking through artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, and growing financing requirements associated with the green transition.

He said the bank's strategy would focus on combining its operational scale with greater efficiency and its institutional experience with technological innovation.

Under its "More Than a Bank" approach, Ziraat Bank plans to integrate its extensive service network with its digital ecosystem to provide comprehensive lending, payment and investment services to all segments of the real economy, from agriculture to industry.

Çakar concluded that the bank would continue expanding its contribution to the balanced growth of the Turkish economy.