Study finds Bank Asya the most transparent bank

Though Bank Asya was taken over by the Turkish state this week on the pretext of lack of transparency, in fact a study from Sabancı University found Bank Asya to be the most transparent Turkish bank.

Bank Asya was ranked #1 in transparency for shareholder structure and corporate organization in Sabancı University's assessment.

The study, titled Public Disclosure Frequency and Corporate Governance Guidelines of Publicly Traded Banks, was conducted in 2009 and covered 13 banks which had been publicly traded as after 2006.

Bank Asya was followed by Deniz Bank, TEB, Şeker Bank and Akbank. The methodology used in the calculation was modeled after the Standard and Poor’s.

The report significantly raises questions over the already highly controversial temporary management take over by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), acting on commands of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK). The premise for the takeover was that there was a lack of transparency regarding the ownership structure of the bank, and that required documentation had not been sent in time.

The temporary takeover was harshly criticized as politically motivated.

Published on BGNNews, 11 February 2015, Wednesday

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• History of politically motivated assault on Bank Asya