March 27, 2015

Bank Asya CEO calls for an end to lawless takeover

Speaking on a live TV interview with Bugün TV on Thursday, ousted Bank Asya CEO Ahmet Beyaz called for an immediate halt to the illegal and political takeover of the bank, engineered by state regulators.

Conducted with a battalion of police, the February 3 raid on Bank Asya handed over the management of Group A privileged shares to the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), acting on orders of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), who claimed that the bank had not submitted information regarding the founding partners and changes in shareholding structure on time.

The ousted CEO demanded an immediate return of the management's shares to their rightful owners, stating that there was no valid reasoning for the takeover.

“Even though we had submitted documentation pertaining to 53 percent of the shares they only processed 37 percent. As of today we have 90 percent of the information handed over to the BDDK…The BDDK already has the documentations pertaining to the Group A shareholders," Beyaz said.

He added “A total of 30 teams of auditors have inspected our bank and have not been able to find any sound proof or documentation of wrong doing.”

For the past 16 months the defamation of the bank has continued in the hands of pro-government press and officials, damaging its reputation. Even though manipulation and defamation are strictly against capital markets laws, regulators remained silenced.

TRY 10 billion in deposits have left the bank, according to Beyaz, half of which belonged to state institutions who withdrew after political pressure. “We have stood strong thanks to the customers who sold their bracelets and earrings,” said the ousted CEO, extending his thanks for the scores of loyal customers who rallied behind the bank.

One controversial aspect is that a raid similar to Bank Asya's could still happen to any other publicly traded establishment. Beyaz reminded that both Standard & Poor and Moody’s have warned Turkey on the Bank Asya case as an example of grave concern.

“Turkey is heavily dependent on foreign investments, and will pay a heavy price," Beyaz said.

Beyaz also voiced optimism, stating that he believed that the problem with the regulators could be solved domestically and soon, adding that a total of 400 cases had been filed by the bank against the takeover.

Published on BGNNews, 27 March 2015, Friday

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