Bank Asya shares suspended from trading after takeover

The authorities cited a decision by the country’s banking watchdog, BDDK, for the complete takeover of all shares of Bank Asya by the Insurance Fund (TMSF). 

The bank’s shares were moved to the stock exchange’s watch list, where companies are subject to monitoring and examination, in September 2014.

Turkish authorities said on May 29 they had decided to take over Bank Asya, the Islamic lender caught up in a feud between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

The move was announced by the BDDK just over a week ahead of the parliamentary election. It followed an earlier decision by the BDDK to take management control of the bank, citing its failure to meet legal criteria.

The action was launched after a run on deposits at Bank Asya last year when it became embroiled in the power struggle between Erdoğan and Gülen, whose followers had set up the bank.