In the first half of the 19th century, during the Ottoman Empire, foreign banks began offering their services within the imperial territories. Consequently, in 1863, Ahmed Şefik Midhat Pasha established the National Funds.
With the efficient and regular work carried out by these funds and their services provided to all citizens across the Ottoman lands, a modern financial system called the Agricultural Bank “Ziraat” was formed on August 15, 1888. During World War I and the occupation of most Ottoman territories by Allied forces, the city of Izmir was occupied by the Greeks, who then moved the main headquarters of the Agricultural Bank to Izmir. However, in 1920, after the establishment of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, all branches of the Agricultural Bank were annexed to the main branch in the capital, Ankara. In 1922, the Istanbul and Izmir branches were also incorporated into the main center in Ankara. The bank currently owns more than 4,163 ATMs and over 1,545 branches throughout Turkey, employing about 24,374 staff members. It also offers electronic branch services on the web, a call center, and mobile banking services through smartphones. The bank includes the following local financial companies within its group:
- Agricultural Retirement
- Agricultural Leasing
- Agricultural Financial Portfolio
- Agricultural Insurance
- Agricultural Technology
- Agricultural Participation and local companies
The Agricultural Bank also has branches outside Turkey in locations such as New York, London, Bulgaria, Georgia, Baghdad, Erbil, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Athens, Rhodes, Jeddah, Pristina, and Tehran.
The bank offers all types of banking services for individuals and institutions, such as deposits, investments, loans, and credit cards.
