Our Ethical Principles

Ethic is an entire body of measures, which investigate values, norms, rules that govern the individual and social relations in terms of a moral point based on parameters such as right-and-wrong or good-and-bad. Professional ethics regulates the relationships between individuals being a member of a profession and the relationship of those with the society, while corporate ethics defines an intraorganizational behavior culture by introducing certain rules in addressing the problems arising from inside and outside the organization.

 

The fact that banks, which fulfill investment and saving functions by playing an integrating and intermediary role between the fund-supplying and the fund-demanding parties of the society, have also adopted profitability and productivity principles, obliges them to abide by during their operations ethical principles in both professional and corporate domains.

 

Moving from the goals of growing banking system, raising the banking’s service quality, using the resources most appropriately preventing unfair competition between banks, it is required for the banks to regulate the relations of the banks each other and with other organizations as well as their relations with customers, shareholders and employees in accordance with ethical principles.

Article 1- The fundamental motive behind the banking ethics to apply to the procedures and transactions of the banks with each other and with their customers and shareholders, and as well as with other organizations is to ensure that the existing respect for the banking profession in the society is set on a permanent footing, to maintain and improve this social respect, called also as professional honor, and to maintain and protect the stability and trust in the banking sector.

 

“Banks” term stated in this regulation means the banks which are the members of Our Association.

Article 2- These ethical principles have been prepared on grounds laid down by provisions of second paragraph of Article 75, subparagraphs (c) and (e) of Article 80, and third paragraph of Article 81 of Banking Law No. 5411.

Article 3- Banks are required to abide by the below-specified general principles in their operations for the purposes of ensuring an efficient operation of the deposit and credit systems, preventing the procedures and applications which may cause considerable loss and damage to the economy by also taking into consideration protecting the rights and interests of the savers, maintaining trust and stability in financial markets, requirements of economical development, serving to the best interests of the public and protecting the environment.

 

Article 9- Banks shall provide accurate, complete and timely information to their customers regarding any kind of products and services they offer to their customers in every phase of the service relation and about each issue abiding by limitations laid down in legislation.

Article 10- Banks shall be obliged to keep confidential and with caution any kind of information and documents related to customers, except from competent person and authority being entitled to demand information and document according to the law.

Article 11- Banks shall consider service quality as prerequisite of satisfying need and expectations of the customers through qualified service. Banks shall show due diligence for appropriate use for continuous development of technological infrastructure and qualified human resource which are two main elements of the term ‘service quality’.

Banks shall provide service for their all customers in the same quality and level. However, differentiating the organizational structure and product range in line with a determined target market or approaching the customers in different risk group with different approaches can not be interpreted as a discrimination or categorization of the customers./span>

Article 12- Banks shall establish a system which will answer to all questions of customers arisen from provided services and notify the customer about related information for this service.

Banks shall investigate reasonsof complaints of customers and take necessary measures to prevent fair complaints from repeating. They shall instruct their employees for correction and non-repetition of wrong practices causing to complaints.

Article 13- Banks shall accept that the concept of “Security” includes measures related to protection of service mediums of the bank against any kind of adversity in the banking sector and also prevention of any kind of violation which will lead to technical damages in the services offered to the customers.

 

Banks shall take required technical and legal measures for ensuring transaction security in any kind of service medium due to developing services, changing service channels in parallel to technological development and electronic banking. They shall inform their customers about measures that they have taken and need to be taken by customers.

Article 14-Banks shall show due diligence to ensure that their employees possess the knowledge, experience and sense of responsibility. Banks shall not employ persons who do not have legal conditions laid down in legislation, particularly under Banking Law No 5411.

Article 15- Banks shall show due diligence to provide equal opportunities in both employment and also career development without making discrimination between their employees. Motivated by the principle of the best management of human resources, banks shall provide training, course, seminar and similar opportunities so that their employees achieve to have necessary knowledge level of the era and banking profession.

They shall take into consideration the commitment to banking ethics and diligence demonstrated in the implementation of these principles as well as the knowledge, skill and individual achievement during the promotion decisions of their employees.

Article 16- Banks shall introduce internal regulations foreseeing that their employees look neat and clean in conformance with the reputation of the banking profession and also with the awareness that they represent their banks.

Banks shall take measures as required for increasing of the motivation of their personnel working in all service units and for providing service of their personnel in better conditions and ensure a healthy and safe working environment.

Article 17- Banks shall show due diligence for the employment of sufficient number of personnel required by the workload, organize their employees in a way that they yield maximum productivity during the working hours, and show utmost efforts for preventing overtime work and for their employees use their annual leaves regularly

 

Article 18- Banks shall introduce internal regulations providing sanctions and measures for the prevention of their employees from:

Being involved in relations with the customers such as borrowing-lending, being guarantor and opening joint accounts with the customers which relations can not be explained under ethical principles,

Accepting presents from the current or potential customers of the bank, or Deriving personal benefits from both their job potentials and from the business potentials of their customers by using their status.

Article 19- Banks shall show due diligence to ensure rights arising from legislation provisions that employees are subjected to in a timely and complete manner.

Article 22- Banks, bank employees and customers of the banks shall make application.However, an application based on an accusation of violation of the Banking Ethics Rules of the Association by certain acts and actions set forth and sanctioned in the Banking Law and other applicable laws, including, but not limited to, the disputes either pending in or finally resolved by the courts cannot be filed.

Applications not filed within one year following the date of occurrence of the underlying event shall not be acceptable either.

Article 23- Application shall be made to the Association in writing. In the applications, information and documents related to behavior in contradiction with ethical principle shall be added clearly and in detail. The alleged breach of ethical principles or rules underlying the application shall be described concretely by reference to person, time and place.

 

Acceptance and review of application

Article 24- Applications shall be controlled by Association in terms of quality, information and document. Application which is not considered as appropriate in terms of required quality, information and document shall not be put in process. This situation shall be reported to the applicant. Applications regarded as acceptable shall be submitted by the Association to the Ethics Committee of the Association.

 

The composition and procedures and principles for working of the Ethics Committee of the Association shall be determined by the Board of Directors of the Association.

 

Article 25- Decisions taken by the Ethics Committee related to the applications found eligible by the Board of Directors for a review by the Ethics Committee as regards the alleged breach of Ethics Rules of the Association shall be submitted to the Board of Directors of the Association. Decisions on the applications found and determined not to breach the Ethics Rules shall be notified to the sides in writing.

Article 26- With respect to the applications delivered by the Ethics Committee to the Board of Directors of the Association as above, the Board of Directors shall decide on compliance or non-compliance with the Ethics Rules. If the Board of Directors detects a non-compliance with the Ethics Rules, then the banks and/or bank officers breaching the Ethics Rules shall be reported to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Authority (BDDK)

Article 27- The ethical principles of the banking shall be executed by the Board of the Directors of the Banks Association of Turkey.

Article 28- The ethical principles of the banking shall enter into force as of the date it is published.