Founded 161 years ago to support agriculture: Messi advertisement on Parliament's agenda

World-famous footballer Lionel Messi's appearance in a Ziraat Bank advertisement has become a topic of political debate.

DEVA Party Istanbul MP Hasan Karal has brought the selection of footballer Lionel Messi as the new face of Bankkart, Ziraat Bank's card product, to the Parliament's agenda.

In his parliamentary question, Karal asked how much payment would be made to Messi under the advertising agreement by Ziraat Bank, which is financed by public funds, and what the public benefit of featuring Messi in the advertisement is.

DEVA Party's Hasan Karal submitted a parliamentary question to the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) to be answered by Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek.

Reminding that Ziraat Bank is a bank with 100 percent public capital, Karal stated that the bank chose world-famous footballer Lionel Messi as the new face of Bankkart as part of its collaboration with the payment systems company Mastercard.

Noting that the bank's statement indicated that footballer Messi would promote the advantages offered by Bankkart and Bankkart Mobile products, Karal said, "The choice of a famous footballer for advertising expenses by a public bank financed by citizens' taxes has brought the issue of public interest to the agenda."

MONEY SPENT ON ADVERTISEMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS IN THE LAST 5 YEARS

Karal also touched upon the advertising and announcement expenditures included in Ziraat Bank's annual report in his motion. Emphasizing that the bank has paid 2 billion 364 million TL for advertisements and announcements in the last 5 years, Karal provided the following information:

"According to Ziraat Bank's annual reports; it was stated that 256.7 million TL was spent on advertisements and announcements in 2019, 236.3 million TL in 2020, and 281.5 million TL in 2021. In 2022, Ziraat Bank, which spent a total of 467 million 555 thousand TL, increased this by 140 percent in 2023 to 1 billion 122 million 298 thousand TL for advertisements and announcements. The total expenditure on announcements and advertisements made in 5 years has reached 2 billion 364 million TL. The bank's advertising expenditure in 2023 was exactly 298 times the amount of advertising expenditure in 2005. In contrast, the advertising expenditures of two major private banks, which are among Turkey's leading banks and whose advertisements we see very frequently, have only increased by about 8 times in the same period. Therefore, the very high advertising expenditures at a public bank require explanation."

"ADVERTISEMENTS ARE CONCENTRATED IN CERTAIN MEDIA GROUPS"

Karal underlined that every advertising fee spent unnecessarily and without public interest is deducted from taxes.

Stating that the issue of these public-capital banks concentrating their advertisements on certain media groups, especially in the recent period, has also come to the public's attention, Karal said, "The expectation from these banks with public capital is for them to explain the criteria according to which they determine their advertisements, which are financed by the taxes of 85 million citizens, and where the advertising shares are distributed."

QUESTIONS FOR MINISTER ŞİMŞEK

Karal requested answers to the following questions to be addressed by Treasury and Finance Minister Şimşek:

"1) How much payment will be made by Ziraat Bank under the advertising agreement made with footballer Lionel Messi?

2) What is the public benefit of featuring footballer Messi in an advertisement that will be paid for using public funds?

3) Do you evaluate a public bank making an advertising deal with a world-famous footballer while even private banks are cutting their advertising expenditures within commercial and ethical boundaries?

4) What has been the return to the bank of the announcement and advertising expenditure, which reached a total of 2 billion 364 million TL in the last 5 years?

5) Is the expenditure of 298 times more public funds on advertisements and announcements given by Ziraat Bank in 2023 compared to 2005 an acceptable rate by your Ministry?

6) How do you evaluate Ziraat Bank, which was established for the purpose of supporting farmers and developing Turkish agriculture, spending more than 2 billion TL of public funds on advertising in the last 5 years?

7) Do you think that the public funds spent on advertising have any support for farmers and agriculture?"