Bank Asya shares remain halted: SPK

ISTANBUL

The trading of Islamic lender Bank Asya’s shares will remain suspended until a new decision has been made, the head of Turkey’s capital markets watchdog has announced.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency on Sept. 11, Capital Markets Board (SPK) Chairman Vahdettin Ertaş said “The suspension will continue unless a new decision is made.”

Borsa Istanbul suspended trading the lender’s shares on Aug. 7. A week after its first closure, it made a statement and announced the lender will be removed from the stock exchange’s indexes until uncertainty regarding its ownership is resolved.

The bank has seen its profits and capital base collapse since December 2013 when it found itself at the center of a power struggle between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Fethullah Gülen, an Islamic scholar whose supporters founded the bank.