Yapi Kredi Logo PNG
The bank is a leader and will confidently lead the client in the right direction, the Yapı Kredi logo says. The emblem exudes a calm and businesslike approach, complemented by a keen interest in the well-being of those who have entrusted their funds to the organization.
Yapı Kredi was founded in 1944 by Kazım Taşkent as Yapı ve Kredi Bankası, meaning “Construction and Credit Bank.” Its early mission was tied to postwar Turkey: helping citizens finance homes and family life. The bank’s symbol became a stork, an image associated with home and family. In 1977, it received the stylized form used for decades.
From its early years, Yapı Kredi pushed forward Turkish retail banking. It introduced income-generating savings accounts, car loans, telephone banking, and computerized branches. In 1967, it became the first bank in Turkey to issue credit cards, a fact that later helped protect the brand’s identity.
The bank’s shares began trading on the Istanbul Stock Exchange on May 28, 1987. In 1984, control passed to Mehmet Emin Karamehmet, owner of Çukurova Holding. During that era, Hüsnü Özyeğin served as CEO before later founding Finansbank, a direct retail competitor.
By the early 2000s, Çukurova Holding faced financial pressure. In 2005, Koç Finansal Hizmetler, a joint venture of Koç Holding and UniCredit, acquired a majority stake in Yapı Kredi. In 2006, Koçbank merged into Yapı Kredi, and the stronger historical name survived.
Koç kept the Yapı Kredi brand for its recognition, credit card legacy, and stork emblem. However, the updated corporate style drew criticism from loyal customers. From 2015 to 2017, the bank invested heavily in digital systems and mobile banking. UniCredit left Koç Finansal Hizmetler in 2019 and sold its remaining 18% stake to Koç Holding in 2021. Koç then held over 60% of Yapı Kredi.
Meaning and History
Yapı Kredi Bank has earned an honest reputation for itself by first introducing credit cards to residents of Turkey. Given this, the Koç group leaders decided to keep its legendary name as an important and recognizable part of the brand. Instead, they radically changed the corporate style, which caused a storm of resentment among regular customers.
What is Yapı Kredi?
Yapı Kredi is one of the largest banks in Turkey. It was founded in 1944 and is based in Istanbul. Its advantage is a unified network of more than 800 branches, offering a wide range of services from asset management to insurance. The institution provides loans for housing or car purchases, issues debit cards, and allows account holders to open accounts in various currencies.
1944 – 2006
The stork figure has been used on the Yapı Kredi logo since 1944. The results of a study in Anatolia influenced the choice of the financial institution’s logo. As shown by a survey of residents of the Asian part of Turkey, people wanted to see this long-legged bird as the bank’s main mascot.
The stork is a symbol of the entire Yapı Kredi era. Previously, it was depicted in a realistic style, with the most common motif being the construction of the nest. And only in 1977 did the drawing acquire its modern look. The improved design was closer to abstraction: the bird looked like a complex figure of red stripes. One upwardly protruding line marked the head, three more – the wing, and the small triangle at the bottom was the tail.
Inscriptions surrounded the graphic element. On the left was the first word of the bank’s name; on the right was the second. The slogan “hizmette sınır yoktur” appeared at the bottom. The phrase was written in the Turkish alphabet and is enclosed in quotation marks. She stressed Yapı Kredi’s responsibility to the country.
2006 – today
At the end of September 2005, Koç Holding acquired more than half of Yapı Kredi’s shares and transferred them to Koçbank. Since then, the logos of the two organizations have started to appear together in television advertisements. The merger process was completed in 2006. As a result, Koçbank lost its name but retained the ancient symbol, a ram’s head with twisted horns.
So the iconic stork “retired.” Its place was taken by a completely different emblem, which is now depicted in gray. The lettering style has also been changed: the designers used the Koç logo’s font as a basis. They also combined the name Yapı Kredi by removing the space between the two words and changed the case so that all letters except “Y” and “K” were lowercase.
Font and Colors
The stork, which has been the bank’s mascot for 62 years, symbolized home and family. These questions worried Kazım Taşkent, whose eldest son tragically died. He wanted Yapı Kredi to help every Turkish citizen acquire their housing. And the bird bringing children was supposed to be a harbinger of family happiness.
The stork figure on the logo signified development and nesting. In turn, the ram’s head lacked dynamism. She has always expressed the values of corporate culture and symbolized only one thing: Koç Holding’s strength. The horned head now connects Yapı Kredi to the parent company at the visual identity level.
After the redesign, not only did the drawing change, but the lettering style did as well. Using lowercase “YapıKredi” and removing the slogan made the logo as close as possible to the Koçbank brand name. The new font is reminiscent of Balboa Bold, released in 2001 by Parkinson Type Design. It combines elements of the old and the modern grotesque. Its predecessors were ATF Headline Gothic, Banner, and Newsweek # 9.
The ram’s white head is outlined in light gray (#C5C4C9). Thus, she is contrasted with the red stork as a symbol of high status. The lettering remains blue, but the shade has changed. Previously, this color was closer to Blue (pigment) (#2E3092), and now it is much darker (#174984).