Mr. Altin, welcome to the new position. How do you feel?
Solmaz Altin: Great. Thanks for asking. Of course we have our hands full. But here in Turkey we have the unique chance to forge two companies into becoming the genuine market leader. And that's incredibly fun. Both companies can look back on a long tradition in Turkey, they have both been very successful in recent years and have done their homework. This is why we now can totally focus on the next chapter in our company history, driving forward the integration of both companies. That's something not only I really enjoy, but all of our managers and employees do too.
Your bosses in Munich have declared Turkey to be one of the most important growth markets for the Allianz Group.
True. I couldn't wish for more support from within the company. Within the Allianz Group we have now reached a size that gets people’s attention, but it also raises expectations. And we have to live up to those.
So where do all those high expectations come from?
In Turkey our starting position as one of the leading companies in our sector is really rather good, and this helps us in our planning and makes the market so exciting for us. Within Europe, Turkey is not only the economy showing the most dynamic growth. With 75 million people – almost the size of Germany – it is also one of the continent’s largest economies and its population is fairly young compared to the others. Also, the insurance penetration is very low. From 2007 to 2012 annual premium growth in the P&C business was 12.5 percent on average, in the life business more than 14 percent and in the pensions business a good 35 percent. That's why Turkey is of strategic significance for the Allianz Group.
Allianz and Yapı Kredi have also reported dynamic growth in recent years. Will it stay that way?
In recent years both companies have reported above-average growth. They have grown in line with or even faster than the market that itself is already very robust. For the next years I expect double-digit growth as well.
Aren't you worried that recent political developments will jeopardize the country's stability - as well as your growth plans?
No, I'm not worried. Turkey is a relatively young democracy. It is still learning many of the lessons that come natural to older democracies. We should allow Turkey time for this. But I think that things are moving in the right direction. Of course, there'll always be setbacks - also economically. But we’ve taken all of this into consideration.
Getting back to your business, why did you opt for Yapı Kredi as a partner? Was it a good fit or just a good opportunity?
Both. If an opportunity hadn't opened up, things wouldn't have worked. And if the move hadn't made sense, we would have left things well alone. We have known and worked with the previous owners - the Turkish Koç Group and the Italian Unicredit - for many years. This creates trust and, of course, this helps in a situation where the owners hope to sell off part of their business. On the other hand, Yapı Kredi really was a stroke of luck for us, because it's not only a very successful company in Turkey, but also complements our own business very well and there are hardly any overlaps in our agency network. And that in a growth market.
And the result was a strong insurance company...
That’s not all. We also concluded a very important distribution agreement with Yapı Kredi Bank for the next 15 years. This allows us exclusive access to the fourth-largest banking network in Turkey with more than 900 branch offices and a good 6.5 million customers. In recent years bancassurance has proven the most important channel for the life and pension business in Turkey: In 2012 the proportion of premiums generated by banks amounted to nearly 80% in Turkey. This agreement will allow us to participate in this business more strongly in future.
You also have an agreement with HSBC. How does that fit?
This is a supplement to our business. Bancassurance is really important in Turkey. And of course our agreement with HSBC will help us in this respect. I am very glad that we have these two strong partners on our side.
What's your first impression of the new unit? Will it be possible to integrate it smoothly without any major obstacles?
The corporate culture of Yapı Kredi is very impressive. Once we took a closer look we realized that the two corporate cultures are actually rather similar. This is helpful for our integration.
Are you worried about "Germanizing" a successful Turkish company?
Allianz is not a German company. It has German roots, but it's a European, a global company. Here in Turkey, we're a Turkish company with a global competence and culture. Yapı Kredi is a Turkish company with Turkish roots. Our task now is to get the best of each. No one likes to have someone show up and say how to run things, so we've set up a whole range of working groups consisting of employees from both companies. Their task is to find and work on strenghths and weaknesses. We’re working well toward creating a new shared culture.
So what can we all expect in the future?
I think everyone will benefit from this merger and our cooperation with Yapı Kredi Bank. Our customers will benefit from an expanded portfolio and first-rate processes. They will also be able to draw on our global range of competences. Our employees in Turkey now have the opportunity to shape the market leader together with the best specialists in our sector. And our partners are now part of the largest distribution network in Turkey.
