Bank Asya posts TRY 13 million net profits in the first quarter

Publicly-traded Bank Asya has posted a TRY 12.99 million in net profits as the political siege from regulators enters 106th day.

Bank Asya has been under the control of state regulators after a controversial political raid on February 3 whereby management of 63 percent of its Group A privileged shares were handed over to the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), acting on orders of watchdog Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) who claimed that the bank had not submitted documents regarding the founding partners and changes in shareholding structure on time.

Bank Asya had notably been a target of slander and false rumors from pro-government press and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who had openly called for the takeover of the bank in the past year.

Shareholders have been openly expressing that as of April 28 a total of 94 percent of the documents required had been submitted, well above any legally justified limit for the continuation of the TMSF’s control over the management, which had been challenged from the beginning. The shareholders’ lawyer Süleyman Taşbaş has repeatedly called for the return of the management of the bank to its rightful owners, adding at the time “We do not even need a court order. The management has to be handed back to the bank. However the process is being dragged on without any administrative reason.”

In a statement on the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP), on Wednesday, Bank Asya, the bank emphasized that all tax filings and income statement had been conducted in accordance to the Capital Markets Law and Regulations.

Published on BGNNews, 20 May 2015, Wednesday