Case study: How How Yapı Kredi identifies and works on strategic business opportunities to increase positive and reduce negative impacts

Stakeholder identification and consultation

Please describe which stakeholders (or groups/ types of stakeholders) you have identified, consulted, engaged, collaborated or partnered with for the purpose of implementing the Principles and improving your bank’s impacts. This should include a high-level overview of how your bank has identified relevant stakeholders, what issues were addressed/results achieved and how they fed into the action planning process.

Analyzing the priorities and expectations of Yapı Kredi’s stakeholders allows the bank to better identify and manage risks and opportunities. Yapı Kredi values effective, two-way communication with its stakeholders, which include shareholders and investors, employees, customers, regulatory and supervisory authorities, financial institutions and creditors, international companies, chambers of commerce and unions, suppliers, NGOs, universities and research institutions, and the media.

Customers are at the core of Yapı Kredi’s business model and represent one of its most vital stakeholder groups. The bank actively considers customer feedback to continuously improve and enhance the customer experience and the value it provides. Human capital is the most valuable asset supporting Yapı Kredi’s sustainability, and to meet employee expectations and prepare for the future of work, the bank regularly updates its working models, employee training and development programs, and fringe benefits. Regarding shareholder relations, the Investor Relations department organizes analyst day meetings and teleconferences, conferences, and roadshows to engage with current and prospective investors while keeping shareholders informed about ongoing developments.

Yapı Kredi believes that the Sustainable Development Goals can only be achieved through collaboration among multiple stakeholders. To this end, while setting its strategic priorities, the bank conducts regular stakeholder analyses to understand the expectations of its internal and external groups, integrating these insights into its materiality assessments. These analyses involve over a hundred stakeholders—including shareholders, investors, customers, supervisory and regulatory bodies, financial institutions and creditors, chambers of commerce and unions, suppliers, NGOs, universities, and research institutions. The bank also gathers feedback from external stakeholders and employees through online surveys.

Yapı Kredi actively participates in sectoral initiatives and collaborates with NGOs, emphasizing multi-stakeholder communication and cooperation. The bank aims to be a member of and contribute to international sustainability standards and initiatives. It partners with various organizations such as UNEP FI, UN PRB, TÜSİAD, Global Compact Network Türkiye, Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), Women Entrepreneurs Association of Türkiye (KAGİDER), WWF-Türkiye, Finance for Biodiversity Foundation, the Integrated Reporting Türkiye Network (ERTA), and the Business Council for Sustainable Development Türkiye (bscdTürkiye). Additionally, Yapı Kredi is a member of the Banks Association of Türkiye (BAT), actively participating in its activities and serving on the “Sustainability Working Group.” The bank contributes to all projects and studies under this group, particularly focusing on the Green Asset Ratio (GAR) and climate risk management.

How did Yapı Kredi identify and work on strategic business opportunities to increase positive and reduce negative impacts?

In its 2024 Integrated Annual Report Yapı Kredi reports that it identified and worked on strategic business opportunities to increase positive and reduce negative impacts as follows:

Yapı Kredi provides financial solutions aimed at supporting sustainable development through a variety of products and services, including sustainability-linked loans, renewable energy and energy efficiency loans, and Nature-Friendly Mortgage Loans. Additionally, to promote sustainability among its customers, Yapı Kredi sets specific targets tied to their sustainability performance, regardless of the intended use of the funds in sustainability-linked loans extended to corporate and commercial clients. If these targets are met during the loan period, customers benefit from favourable loan conditions.

In 2024, Yapı Kredi developed and published a net-zero roadmap, outlining prioritized sector-specific action steps to achieve SBTi-verified emission reduction targets as part of its climate change strategy. The core of this transformation strategy is to support its customers’ transition needs. As demand increases and capacity utilization rises, financing investments in emission-reducing technologies that enhance capacity becomes a key opportunity for the bank. Yapı Kredi also offers funding for companies with high energy consumption to invest in renewable energy projects aimed at lowering their emission intensity, as well as loans for green energy consumption, such as purchasing green electricity certificates. Moreover, financing the integration of advanced technologies like carbon capture and storage is an integral part of Yapı Kredi’s transformation strategy.

UN Principles for Responsible Banking: Accelerating a positive global transition for people and the planet

With over 300 signatory banks representing almost half of the global banking industry, the Principles for Responsible Banking are the world’s foremost sustainable banking framework. Through these Principles, the banking community takes action to align core strategies, decision-making, lending and investment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and international agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement.

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References:

This case study is based on published information by Yapı Kredi, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:

https://www.yapikrediinvestorrelations.com/en/images/pdf/annual-reports/2024/ykb_2024_integrated_annual_report.pdf

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