Dear Esteemed Stakeholders,
At Akbank, banking is fundamentally about people. Beyond numbers, our work is built on trust, values, and aspirations—everything that defines the human experience.
This people-centric philosophy also shapes our approach to sustainability. We view sustainability not merely as an environmental or financial responsibility but as a holistic vision that enhances every aspect of life. As we support economic growth, we remain committed to fostering social equity, protecting the environment, and preserving cultural heritage. With future generations in mind, we take decisive action today, embedding sustainability into our strategy to drive meaningful societal progress. By integrating people, technology, and sustainability, we are redefining the future of banking.
Our long-term commitment to a more sustainable future is reflected in the tangible steps we take each year. In 2024, we reaffirmed our 2050 net-zero target and became a member of the Net Zero Banking Alliance. We prioritized the decarbonization of key industries—including cement, iron and steel, real estate, and energy—by introducing our 2030 interim targets and sector-specific roadmaps aligned with the 1.5-degree scenario. As a result, Akbank became the first deposit bank in Türkiye to announce a sectoral decarbonization strategy.
Looking ahead, we remain focused on financing the climate transition, accelerating the decarbonization of our portfolio, and driving transformative change in our priority sectors. Through bold action and unwavering commitment, we continue to shape a more sustainable future for generations to come.As Akbank, we are the first Turkish bank to announce a sustainable financing target of TL 800 billion by 2030, along with a commitment to 100% sustainable external borrowing by 2030. We are also delighted to see the share of sustainable borrowing in our total external borrowing growing steadily.
We recognise that sustainability requires transformation across the entire value chain. To this end, we have launched a significant collaboration with the EBRD on sustainable supplier financing to accelerate supply chain transformation in Türkiye. With this innovative financing mechanism, our aim is to speed up companies' green transformation by facilitating suppliers' access to finance. Through this and similar partnerships, we are contributing to a more sustainable future, not just for our customers, but for the entire ecosystem.
The financial sector plays a crucial role in managing climate risks. Through our blue financing strategy, we are prioritising solutions that enhance climate resilience in Türkiye and taking steps to reduce the sector's vulnerability. We now base new investment decisions on sustainability factors, including low carbon emissions and climate resilience. We view climate resilience not only as an environmental responsibility, but also as an investment in the future.
Sustainability is a transformational process that demands collective effort and strong cooperation. Engaging in international collaborations, contributing to national initiatives and building a shared future are essential elements of this journey. Guided by this principle, we take an active role in sectoral collaborations. We place great importance on the activities of the Banks Association of Türkiye and participate in the Sustainability Working Group and the Green Asset Ratio Working Group. Additionally, we are delighted to contribute to the cooperation in this field by establishing the Technical Sub-Working Group on Climate Transition Finance, chaired by Akbank.
Through these efforts, we continued to take a pioneering role in gender equality within the banking sector. We were the only bank from Türkiye to be included in the 2024 Gender Equality Working Group organised by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). The sustainable financing solutions and mentoring services our bank provides to women-led businesses and initiatives were recognised as ‘good practice examples’ in the guide published by the Working Group.
We also closely monitor national and international sustainability regulations that directly or indirectly impact our customers. In this regard, we support our exporters in their green transformation by focusing on issues such as the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. It is crucial for us to inform our customers so they can effectively manage the risks associated with this transformation and seize the opportunities to gain a competitive edge, providing support throughout their transformation processes. With this goal in mind, in 2024, we organised our “Together for the Future Meetings”, focusing on digital and green transformation. Additionally, through the “Exceeding Borders in Export” training sessions, held in collaboration with the Türkiye Exporters Assembly, we trained our customers on the significance of sustainability in trade.
Through the Akbank Transformation Academy, which we established to digitise and financially empower our SMEs, we have reached 20,000 SMEs and entrepreneurs since 2022. In 2024, we continued to provide our SMEs with a wide range of training and mentoring services, especially in the areas of green transformation, e-commerce, export and digital marketing, as well as discounted or complimentary access to certain products and services. With special programmes for women SMEs and entrepreneurs, we continued to support the journey of women leaders.
We continue to take innovative steps towards strengthening the entrepreneurship ecosystem. We are proud to have successfully completed the second term of Akbank+, Türkiye’s first full-time spin-off programme, and increased the total amount of our investment to USD 2 million.
Through various programmes and projects, we are helping young people across Türkiye to build a stronger future for themselves and our country. As part of the Akbank Bright Tomorrows Initiative, which we launched to empower young people with new-generation skills, we engaged with more than 10,000 young people in the region affected by the 6 February earthquakes. In the second term, we continue our efforts, prioritising the career and development needs of university students. Through “Transformation Holds the Future”, one of the largest upcycling projects in Türkiye and Europe, we are turning our old office furniture into school furniture. As part of the project, we are supporting students in mastering the techniques in the upcycling workshop we have set up at Iskenderun Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, and improving the educational experience for students in the earthquake zone. By the end of the project, we will have provided over 18,000 new pieces of upcycled furniture to nearly 400,000 students across more than 1,300 schools.
As an institution that recognises the transformative power of knowledge, we continue to lead pioneering projects in education. Through the Akbank Youth Academy, one of our key initiatives in this area, we have worked throughout this year to equip young people with the skills needed for tomorrow’s business world. As in all areas, we prioritised sustainability in education and prepared young people for the future with our competency introduction trainings on sustainability and sustainable finance. We are pleased that the Akbank Youth Academy, which began in 2020, has reached over 180,000 young people by the end of 2024.
Throughout the year, we organised more than 700 cultural and arts events, including leading international festivals, to make the arts accessible to all segments of society and support artists, particularly young talent. We furthered these efforts by introducing Türkiye’s first permanent artificial intelligence artwork, created by the renowned artist Refik Anadol. We aim to inspire high school and university students by sharing this piece, which blends the perfect harmony of art and technology with Akbank's rich history, through organised tours. In doing so, we hope to convey the nuances of artificial intelligence art to the next generation.
With our focus on people, we strive for sustainability in every aspect of life - from our sustainable financing instruments to our gender equality mentoring for women entrepreneurs, from our social investments that prepare young people for the future to our long-term support for the arts. Building on our achievements in 2023, we demonstrated a strong sustainability performance in 2024. As we strengthened our collaborations with international networks and global commitments, we accelerated our efforts to ensure a sustainable future for all our stakeholders. We are proud to have received international recognition for all of these activities. In the MSCI rating, which assesses companies’ resilience to long-term environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, we successfully raised our rating to the leadership level with AA score. We were also named “Türkiye’s Best Bank in Sustainable Finance” by Global Finance for the third consecutive year, and “Türkiye’s Best Bank for Environment, Social and Governance (ESG)” by Euromoney.
At Akbank, the human factor is also integrated with technology. We consider technology not just as a tool, but as a driving force that transforms the customer experience and shapes the future. With every artificial intelligence and digital transformation project we deliver, without losing the human aspect of banking, we are happy to offer the banking of the future today, enhancing the customer experience one step further. Our expertise in new technologies allows us to provide our customers with a faster, safer and more efficient experience every day.
Artificial intelligence-based applications have been at the centre of Akbank's business model and decision-making for many years, and the rapid development of generative AI solutions and their use in our bank further strengthens this approach. A large and powerful library of advanced analytical models, continuously updated through regular development and investments, underpins our decision-making processes, the hyper-personalised experiences we offer to our customers, and our innovative digital products and services. Our solutions stand out thanks to more than 400 advanced analytical models and over 100 cognitive models we have developed in areas such as natural language processing, image processing and voice processing.
Akbank Assistant, which addresses the banking needs of our customers through both written and spoken communication, became even more powerful in 2024 with generative AI solutions. It now handles 2 million sessions and over 170 million voice calls per month. Our Assistant solution simplifies life for both our customers and our colleagues. We are proud to offer a unique experience to our customers by integrating all our digital and analytical capabilities at the core of our business model and across all our channels.
As we pursue these initiatives, our most valuable asset is our solid foundation. With strong liquidity, a robust capital structure, high asset quality and a talented workforce, Akbank has been dedicated to driving the Turkish economy forward and creating value for our society since 1948. We transforms our financial stability into lasting value, securing not only our present but also our future by focusing on sustainable profitability.
In 2024, the loan support we provided to the economy increased to a total of TL 1 trillion 728 billion with TL 1 trillion 376 billion in cash loans. Our deposits reached TL 1 trillion 633 billion, while our assets reached TL 2 trillion 653 billion. With our strong capital adequacy ratio of 20.2%, we continued to support the growth and development of the real sector. In 2024, Akbank reported a consolidated net profit of TL 42 billion 362 million, after TL 9 billion 490 million tax provisions.
In 2024, as we strived to contribute to our country in all areas, we were proud to be one of only four institutions and the only Turkish bank to be included in the "World's Best Companies 2024" list compiled by TIME Magazine in collaboration with Statista. This success story, defined by our team spirit, financial performance and transparent sustainability approach, bears the mark of all Akbankers. In 2025, we will continue to create value for all our stakeholders with the same tenacity and determination.
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our customers, colleagues and all our stakeholders who trust and support us at every step.