DenizBank can now provide loans to its customers in exchange for ELİDAŞ’s electronic product certificates, and DenizYatırım can also facilitate the buying and selling of these certificates.
Since acquiring Tarişbank in 2002 and taking over its mission to support Turkish agriculture, DenizBank has maintained its leading position among private banks with its sector-specific financing solutions and wide range of products. This strategic decision was influenced by the legacy inherited from Milli Aydın Bankası and the significant knowledge and experience of Tarişbank, a leader in the sector with 90 years of experience.
In addition to providing the highest amount of credit to the agricultural sector, DenizBank stands out with its efforts to increase productivity in agricultural production and the competitiveness of Turkish agriculture. With this new agreement with ELİDAŞ, of which DenizBank is a partner, entrepreneurs can now access loans from DenizBank in exchange for ELÜS (electronic product certificates). DenizYatırım can also act as an intermediary in the buying and selling of ELÜS.
In early 2011, ELİDAŞ was established by 19 legal entities under the leadership of the Izmir Commodity Exchange to conduct licensed warehousing activities for agricultural products. This marked the opening of Turkey’s first licensed cotton warehouse and its first authorized cotton classifier laboratory. Through licensed warehousing, pioneered by ELİDAŞ, farmers can store their classifiable agricultural products such as cotton and oilseeds in licensed warehouses after undergoing analysis and classification processes. Licensed warehousing allows farmers to store their products safely and securely, document their quality, and access quick, low-interest loans in exchange for product certificates. Furthermore, licensed warehousing offers producers the opportunity to sell their products in a highly competitive electronic environment.
With ELÜS, a pioneering initiative in Turkey by ELİDAŞ, the aim is to electronically register, evaluate, and track virtual papers similar to shares, belonging to investors who deposit cotton in licensed warehouses, and tradable on the stock exchange, by the Central Securities Depository (MKK). ELÜS can be bought and sold electronically according to market prices, ensuring price traceability in the free market. Even customers with no connection to cotton can buy and sell cotton after these papers are traded on the stock exchange.
ELİDAŞ General Manager Ahmet Özlü commented on the matter: “Our company was established to contribute to the agricultural sector in partnership with Stock Exchanges, Chambers of Commerce, Associations, and Financial Institutions. Following its official opening on March 22, 2013, our company, which experienced its first cotton harvest season, has achieved its projected goals. ELİDAŞ, with its modern storage facilities, protects cotton owners against the risk of quality deterioration that may occur due to storage, and also eliminates the significant insurance costs for cotton warehouses. Cotton is registered electronically, making it an investment tool for all investors. The aim of the system is to create a structure where investors, along with the traditional parties in the cotton sector – farmers, ginners, and yarn manufacturers – will also benefit. Furthermore, income and corporate tax exemptions have been granted until December 31, 2014, for gains from the buying and selling of Electronic Product Certificates. It is expected that the system will continue and that additional measures will be taken to directly involve farmers in the system.”
“Özaltın Agricultural Enterprises became the first customer of the ELÜS System.”
Making a statement on the matter, DenizBank Western Anatolia Regional Manager Hasan Özer Orhan noted that their support for the agricultural sector will continue to increase. Orhan stated, “In the cotton sector, a new era has begun for all segments, from producers to traders, from industrialists to investors, with the licensed warehousing system. Thanks to the licensed warehousing system, cotton owners can store their product in ELİDAŞ and, in return, obtain loans from DenizBank at affordable costs, quickly and easily. This allows them to sell their product at their target price whenever they wish. Through ELÜS certificates, investors can invest in cotton even if they are not cotton producers. Our bank’s investment in the agricultural sector, recognizing its potential and developments, has brought a different and new perspective to financial transactions in the sector. Our first customer to benefit from the ELÜS system was Özaltın Agricultural Enterprises. We provided Özaltın Agricultural Enterprises with a loan against ELÜS certificates. Our bank is the bank that provides the most loans to the agricultural sector; the total amount of loans we have given to the agricultural sector has reached 3 billion TL, and our customer base has reached 700,000. Our support for agriculture will continue to increase.”
He added Kasım Külek Öz, a partner at Özaltın Tarım İşletmeleri AŞ, expressed his happiness at being the first to use this system, which, although new in Turkey, is implemented in many parts of the world, especially in the USA. He stated, “Licensed warehouses were a fundamental condition for the formation of derivative markets. In licensed warehouses, cotton is analyzed and categorized in a single bale system and stored according to the analysis results. This practice is an important step in terms of the quality and standard of the raw material.”
