Turkish lenders called on to present defenses

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Nurettin Kaldırımcı, president of the Competition Board, speaks to journalists in this file photo. Kaldırımcı says the board will hear 12 banks about allegations. AA photo

Turkey’s Competition Board awaits defense from 12 Turkish banks accused of unfair competition regarding the setting of interest rates on loans and deposits.

“We have sent official notices to the banks that they are under investigation and now we are waiting for them to provide their preliminary defense,” said Nurettin Kaldırımcı, president of the Competition Board.

Kaldırımcı told Anatolia news agency the normal investigation process should take approximately six months. He said this process could, however, take up to one year.

On when the preliminary defenses would take place, Kaldırımcı said, “The sooner the better, so we can use that input to prepare an investigation report. We do not have a fixed time period, but the sooner it is, the sooner the banks will receive our notification.”

The investigation was launched Nov. 2 into the following banks: Akbank, Finansbank, HSBC, ING Bank, Türk Ekonomi Bank (TEB), Garanti Bank, Halkbank, İşbank, Vakıfbank, Yapı Kredi Bank, Ziraat Bank and Garanti Bank Payment Systems and Housing Finance Consultancy.