Vakıfbank shares to be transferred to Treasury, draft bill suggests

Aysel Alp ISTANBUL

Some 58 percent of Vakıfbank, all of which is currently owned by the General Directorate of Foundations, will be transferred to the Treasury, as part of controversial new regulations sent to Parliament on Oct. 20.

The planned transfer of the bank’s share to the Treasury appears to be an “expropriation,” according to sources.

In the draft law which brings about revisions to many regulations, including Banking Law No. 5411, there are crucial changes to the share structure of Vakıfbank, which was established in the 1950s.

A source from the General Directorate of Foundations told daily Hürriyet that the foundation properties could not be nationalized and even if they were, the decision would be reversed either by Turkey’s Constitutional Court or the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

“Almost 25 percent of Turkey’s surface area belongs to foundations … Which property of the foundations has increased in value in such a span of time? The bank was established with 50 million Turkish Liras in 1954. Today it is worth $10 billion. If we assume that 60 percent of this belongs to the foundations, this makes $6 billion,” said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.