In October 2002 KFS signed a strategic partnership with UniCredit (UCI), a leading international banking group of Italian origin present in 20 countries.

On 29 September 2005, Koçbank enhanced its position in the Turkish banking market with the acquisition of 57.4% of the share capital of Yapı ve Kredi Bankası, one of Turkey's oldest and largest financial groups.

Following the merger in October 2006, 80.2% of Yapı Kredi was owned by KFS while minorities’ stake in the bank was 19.8%.

Following the legal merger, Yapı Kredi is positioned as the fourth largest privately owned commercial bank by asset size in Turkey, with interest in credit cards, assets under management, non-cash loans, leasing, factoring, private pension funds and non-life insurance.

The combined KFS Group's financial services network now consists of over 13 million customers and 684 branches across the country.