2024 marked a major milestone for Aktif Bank—we completed our quarter-century journey and celebrated our 25th anniversary. Everything we achieved this year was made possible by the trust and contributions of our customers, business partners, and team members.

Dear Stakeholders,

Despite persistent geopolitical tensions and growing global uncertainty, Türkiye’s economy stayed on course in 2024, growing by 3.2%—one of the fastest growth rates among OECD countries. (Source: TURKSTAT, Trading Economics) The effects of disinflation, along with tight monetary policy and economic balancing strategies, played a key role in reshaping the financial sector.

In 2023, the total assets of the banking sector rose 39% to TRY 32.6 trillion, while deposits grew 28% to TRY 19 trillion and total loans increased by 37% to TRY 16 trillion. The sector’s net profit margin was recorded at 6.2%. The banking sector, meanwhile, continued to invest and evolve, keeping pace with the direction of international capital flows and the rise of tech-driven business models. Within Türkiye’s growth outlook, our priorities have remained clear: to be a trusted partner in foreign trade, improve access to financial services, enhance the customer experience through innovation, and strengthen our global presence.

In our 25th year, we carried our strong and steady growth performance into 2024 as well. In 2024, as Türkiye’s largest privately-owned investment bank, we continued our national and global collaborations while steadily progressing towards our goals, even surpassing our plans in many areas. The financial results we achieved in 2024 reflect not only the strength of our inclusive and innovative products, but also the experience of 25 years and the clarity of our vision for the future. As of 2024, we continued our growth across four core areas: corporate and investment banking, retail banking, private banking, and our fintech-based subsidiaries. With total assets surpassing TRY 100 billion, we exceeded our targets in 2024—growing our cash loan volume by 58.24% year-over-year to TRY 41.29 billion. We delivered above-sector efficiency and profitability, with an average return on equity of 41.16% and return on assets of 4.80%.

As we close the chapter on our first 25 years, we remain committed to expanding Türkiye’s most comprehensive fintech ecosystem—powered by our distinctive business model, leading subsidiaries, and global partnerships—and to adding lasting value to the national economy. Thanks to our agile approach that prioritizes technology and our pioneering vision for the future, we managed to exceed our goals in 2024. Today, we take pride in contributing to the Turkish economy through the jobs we  create in more than 10 sectors where we operate, and the conveniences we offer to our customers in all aspects of life.

In 2024, we continued our strong initiatives in investment banking, and we considerably increased our support to the economy and exporters with remarkable growth in the areas of renewable energy projects, corporate investment loans, and foreign trade. Our foreign trade service revenues more than doubled in USD terms, while our Corporate Banking team provided working capital and project financing solutions—especially in commodities and cross-border trade. As in previous years, we continued to support renewable energy investments and funding in 2024.

We are shaping the future of sustainable banking not just through financial growth, but by advancing technological transformation and sustainability goals. With the high-capacity Solar Power Plant project completed in 2024, we now meet all energy needs of our headquarters, subsidiaries, and branches from renewable sources. This project is expected to prevent 15,000 tons of carbon emissions over 10 years, and to generate more than TRY 10 million in annual energy savings.

 

Our international Banking team continued to add to their long list of achievements during the year. Through our partnerships with 1,250 banks in 152 countries, we remained a key player in global trade finance. By intensifying funding discussions with ITFC, ICD, and Saudi Exim Bank, we moved another step closer to positioning Türkiye as a strategic hub in international trade.

Our digital banking platform N Kolay maintained its strong momentum in 2024, reaching over 6 million users and doubling its download rate. Thanks to our remote onboarding processes, we grew our new customer base by 80% compared to the previous year. Among our investment offerings, N Kolay Bono saw its volume grow by 34% in 2024, while the number of customers increased by 23%. Offered exclusively via digital channels, our N Kolay Bono XL product recorded a remarkable 150% growth rate. With personalized interest rates and instant account transfers—even on weekends—N Kolay Kredi became one of our most preferred products. In 2024, 75% of all loan applications were completed via the N Kolay Mobile app. We also launched our pension-backed loan product, giving customers access to individual loans of up to TRY 500,000.

Over the past 25 years, we have transformed not only banking, but also numerous industries through our ecosystem-focused business model. Together with our growing group companies, we have built a dynamic and ever-evolving financial technology ecosystem. As Türkiye’s largest privately-owned investment bank, Aktif Bank made its mark not just in banking in 2024, but across the entire fintech landscape.

Positioned as a Super-App and the go-to platform for stadium and event entry, Passo reached 20 million downloads in 2024. By year’s end, we launched an all-new version packed with added features and services, delivering it directly to our users.

In 2024, we opened Passo’s Germany office, marking the start of our European journey.

Our global money transfer brand UPT continued to scale internationally—growing its user base by 60% and transaction volume by 79% through the UPTION app. Our digital insurance platform Sigortayeri reached more than 3 million users, reinforcing its competitive edge with a 255% revenue increase.

2024 was a year in which we doubled down on solutions for SMEs. Pay N Kolay streamlined the financial operations of over 6,000 small business owners and posted 300% revenue growth. Pavo, a trendsetter in the payments space, increased its Android POS sales 20-fold. Working with Türkiye’s leading retail chains, EchoPOS provided infrastructure for over 3 million transactions daily.

Aktif Portföy increased its assets under management by 126%, reaching 47 billion TL and raising the number of funds to 55.

Aktif Ventures launched 808 API services across 17 categories, making it Türkiye’s most comprehensive API platform.

Our technology company Aktif Tech continues moving forward with confidence toward the future. Following its success in the domestic market, Aktif Tech began exporting its solutions and sharing its expertise globally. With plans to open its first international office in 2025, Aktif Tech is steadily progressing toward its goal of becoming a global brand.

Our “Women Active in the Economy” project, which we attach great importance to as it contributes to both gender equality and financial inclusivity, continued rapidly in 2024. Within the scope of this social impact project, we support increasing and more importantly, retaining women in the workforce with the Türkiye Grameen Microfinance Program and Experian collaboration; we endeavor to ensure financial integration of low-income women micro-entrepreneurs who are not included in the banking system, enable them to grow their ventures, and make their income-generating activities sustainable. By the end of 2024, we had reached 5,000 women through the program.

Through N Kolay, we also expanded our contributions to arts and culture. We continued our title sponsorship of the iconic Harbiye Open-Air Concerts and took our partnership with İKSV one step further by becoming the Main Sponsor of the Istanbul Film Festival.

In our 25th year, we proudly added both local and international awards to our growing list, and were once again named in Brand Finance’s “Türkiye’s 125 Most Valuable Brands” list for the third consecutive year.

2024 was a milestone year for Aktif Bank as we celebrated the completion of our 25-year journey. None of our achievements this year would have been possible without the trust and dedication of our customers, partners, and employees. As Aktif Bank, we are strengthening our focus on “growth” with each passing day as a reflection of our technology investments, increasing product variety, and strengthening service channels according to our strategic goals. We continue on this path without compromising on our increasing customer base, sustainable profitability, and customer-centric strategy that forms the very core of our brand. From our subsidiaries to our business lines, from headquarters to field operations, we are achieving a growth that surpasses our plans in all areas. And with this motivation, our appetite for success grows day by day. Backed by a strong infrastructure and a vision rooted in technology and digitalization, Aktif Bank will continue to lead the markets we serve—and the financial technologies ecosystem—as a customer-focused, profitable, and efficient institution in 2025. And we, and our subsidiaries, will continue to work with all our strength to increase our contribution to our economy and our society in 2025.

Sincerely,