Date posted: December 24, 2013

İSTANBUL

Leading Turkish participation bank Bank Asya said on Tuesday that certain media reports are breaking laws by aiming to harm the bank’s image and market value.

Earlier reports in the Turkish media had claimed that the government had mulled over a comprehensive investigation into Bank Asya following an ongoing corruption and bribery case. The papers cited the Hizmet movement — with which Bank Asya is affiliated — as the hand behind the police operations into persons close to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). The same reports implied a retaliatory attack on Bank Asya over alleged abuses within the bank.

In a written note to Borsa İstanbul (BIST) on Tuesday, Bank Asya said the reports are “an apparent breach of laws regulating the stock markets and preserving the rights of firms traded on the bourse.”

“Bank Asya, Turkey’s 10th largest private bank in terms of assets, does not have a single operation that runs against the Turkish banking rules as monitored by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency [BDDK] and the Capital Markets Board [SPK],” the statement read.

Bank Asya noted that it has an asset size of TL 287 billion and serves customers with 281 branches across Turkey and 5,100 employees in full compliance with local banking principles. The bank applied to the SPK last week to issue sukuk worth up to $500 million.

Fifty percent of Bank Asya’s shares are traded on the BIST and Tuesday’s statement is a clear indication that the bank may take legal action against the false reports.

Source: Today's Zaman , December 24, 2013

Tags: Defamation of Hizmet | Hizmet and business | Turkey |