Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.5
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
The changes in the composition of the board of Turkish Bank Asya and its full transition to the state control are not a political step, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.
The prime minister emphasized the importance of transparency in the functioning of the country's banking system, especially in the banking transactions, Haber7 TV channel reported on Feb.5.
He said the government demands transparency not only in the operations of Bank Asya, but also other banks of Turkey.
One of the largest banks of Turkey, Bank Asya was fully transferred to the control of the state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund on Feb.4.
Reportedly, the bank has problems with liquidity but this will not affect the fulfillment of obligations to the clients whose funds will be repaid by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund in the case of necessity.
Nine members of the bank's board were also dismissed on that day.
Several opposition parties of Turkey claimed that the management change in the bank is a political step taken by the government against the movement of Fethullah Gulen [Islamic public figure currently residing in the US].
Bank Asya is regarded as one of the banks having close ties to the Gulen movement. Turkey's Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency decided to temporarily suspend the license of Bank Asya on August 7, 2014.
In order to restore the bank's activity, its shareholders made a decision on its recapitalization, and the bank informed the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency about this.
The bank resumed its activity in the market on September 15, 2014.
Bank Asya closed its 80 branches in the country and put up for sale its assets in the pension and insurance funds in September 2014.
In addition, the bank sold its 40-percent stake in Tamweel Africa Holding for $37.7 million.
Bank Asya also sold its 21.8-percent stake in the Yeni Magazacilik A.S. for 350 million TRY in January 2014. The official exchange rate on Feb.5 is 2.4141 TRY/USD.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier said that the bank was on the verge of bankruptcy. He dismissed the allegations that the country's government was deliberately taking steps to close it down.
Edited by SI
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu