1950’s: Sekerbank T.A.S. was
established in 1953 as the “Sugar Beet Cooperative Bank” in
Eskisehir, Turkey. The Bank commenced its activities by pooling
the modest savings of the sugar beet growers belonging to the
cooperatives. In 1956 the Bank relocated its headquarters to
Ankara and changed its name to Sekerbank.
1970’s: The Bank moved from
being a cooperatives’ bank to a full service commercial
bank. In 1972, a representative office was opened in Cologne-Germany.
1980’s: Sekerbank intensified
its focus on commercial banking. Foreign trade and corporate
banking in particular were given priority.
1990’s: Two of the Bank’s
pension funds, Sekerbank Pension Fund and Sekerbank Personnel
Social Security Foundation, began acquiring shares of Sekerbank,
consequently owning 67.76% of the Bank’s shares. The
successful transformation from a specialized bank into a
full-service private bank led to the Bank’s initial
public offering in 1997.
2000 onwards: Following its successful withstanding
the crisis environment in finance sector during 2000-2001,
the Bank initiated a major internal restructuring in 2002
to change from a traditional commercial bank into a multi-channel,
diversified financial institution based on customer and segment
focused applications. This was followed by the relocation
of its Head Office to Istanbul in 2004. As part of the restructuring,
Sekerbank gained momentum through the widening and strengthening
of its correspondent banking network together with increased
foreign trade volumes.
The Bank initiated partnership discussions with foreign investors during 2005
and 2006. In June 2006 the Bank’s two pension funds signed an agreement
with TuranAlem Securities (“TAS”) of Kazakhstan, a fully owned subsidiary
of BTA Bank for the sale of 33,98% of the Bank’s shares. This partnership
was successfully concluded in March 2007. Distribution of the remaining shares:
33, 98%, Pension Fund of the Bank; 31, 96% Public; and 0,08% Private Sugar Factories
and Beetroot Cooperatives and Union.
Today, Sekerbank is represented by a well distributed branch network and broad
geographical coverage with its more than 50 years of presence, which gives the
Bank a significant advantage to be a major commercial and a retail player in
Turkey.
