Bank Asya answers smear campaign

Publicly traded Bank Asya roundly denied the 'baseless rumors' about its financial status via the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP).

“There have been baseless smear and defamation campaign widely circulating in some press organizations and social media sites” read the statement. “Our bank will apply to the authorities to protect our legal rights in the face of these baseless rumors which are clear violations of banking and capital markets laws and regulations, as well as reason and ethics.”

Pro-government papers had reported claims that the bank was in financial straits, stating that further regulatory measures would be applied to the bank. In the meantime the bank has solidified its capital adequacy ratio at 17.35% in early October, while cash injections from investors have continued.

Bank Asya has been an open target of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who vowed to bring the bank down. He has alleged it is affiliated with the Hizmet movement, whom Erdoğan accused of attempting to topple over the government. One such attempt Erdoğan points to was last year's high-profile corruption probe, dubbed the 17-25 December corruption probe, which targeted businessmen and individuals close to the ruling AK Party (Justice and Development).

Erdoğan’s actions have received condemnation from across the board for attempting to cover up corruption allegations by positioning the Hizmet movement as a scapegoat.

Published on BGNNews, 14 October 2014, Tuesday