CHP deputy had raised the issue: Ziraat Bank responds to 'corruption in logo change' allegations

CHP's Cevdet Akay, showing two photos featuring Ziraat Bank's logos, claimed that only the shape of the letter 'a' was changed and that 954 million TL was spent due to sign changes at 2,000 branches. A statement regarding Akay's allegations has come from Ziraat Bank.

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Republican People's Party (CHP) Karabük Deputy Cevdet Akay made allegations of corruption regarding Ziraat Bank during his speech at the Planning and Budget Committee.

Addressing Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek while holding up photos of the Ziraat Bank logo, Akay said, “There is a 1 billion lira difference between the two photos. How is there a 1 billion lira difference? One is the old emblem, one is the new one. Only the shape of the letter 'a' has been changed. Sign changes are being made at approximately 2,000 branches, digital elements are being changed, bank passbooks are being changed, business cards, letterheads, all materials are being changed, and this costs a figure of 954 million.”

Ziraat Bank issued a statement regarding the matter.

pic.twitter.com/WqXO53uTAY
— Ziraat Bankası (@ziraatbankasi) November 17, 2024

Ziraat Bank stated that the allegations appearing in some press outlets and social media platforms regarding the "logo change" and "a loan used by a company" do not reflect the truth.

DONE SO IT CAN BE READ MORE EASILY!

According to the statement made by the bank, it was argued that the logo was enlarged with a clearer and more modern design to adapt to innovations, thereby ensuring it could be read more easily on branch signs and other media.

Stating that the use of branch signs and all written and visual materials featuring the current logo continues, the statement noted the following:

"The change process is planned according to the renovation needs of our branches and the economic life of the materials in question. To date, only 24 sign changes have been made within the scope of renovations carried out due to necessity. The subsequent change program will be carried out by using the new logo instead of the previous one only after the expiration of the useful life of the areas and materials where the logo is used, and there is absolutely no program such as changing all our branch signs and all printed materials where our logo is used at once. For this reason, no additional cost has been created for our Bank due to the logo change. The furnishing of our branches is carried out for reasons such as opening new branches, relocation, mandatory renovations due to earthquakes, and the completion of economic life. We do not have a practice different from the sector or any other business."

The statement also conveyed that the bank organizes year-end evaluation meetings with its managers, just as other private and public banks in the sector and many corporate firms outside the banking sector do.

The statement, which indicated that the year-end evaluation meetings held at the bank for the last 13 years have addressed the target realizations of the past year and provided a general assessment of the sector with branch managers serving in every region of Turkey, included the following expressions:

"Based on this, the goals and expectations for the coming year are shared, and there is no such cost as alleged. Regarding the loan used by a company, there is absolutely no violation of banking procedures and principles, and the company, which still continues its agricultural activities, closed its loans by paying them in 2023. With its 161-year deep-rooted history, our Bank operates within the framework of banking procedures and principles and sector norms in all of the aforementioned issues and other matters. We present to the public's information that no credence should be given to attempts to discredit our Bank with such baseless allegations and that all our legal rights regarding the matter are reserved."

News Source: AA