Bank Asya To Be Traded On 'Watch-List Market'

Trading of Islamic lender Bank Asya's shares will continue on Sept. 30 on the “watch-list market” due to the volatility of the lender's share's prices, according to an announcement by Turkey's stock exchange Borsa İstanbul on Friday.

According to the stock exchange's website, the “watch-list market” isolates certain companies in a designated zone of the stock market and keeps them under perpetual close surveillance. Shares of Bank Asya reached the ceiling price of TL 0.96 on Friday in spite of two separate suspensions of the bank's stock on Friday.


The trading of the Islamic lender's shares was temporarily interrupted at 10:35 a.m. Friday morning and again at 11:12 a.m., but continued to be traded at the ceiling price of TL 0.96 after the second suspension was lifted. It was announced that the bank would be placed in the “watch-list market” following a third suspension on Friday.

Analysts have expressed concern that the decision to place Bank Asya in the “watch-list market” is a biased and politically-motivated move, although Borsa İstanbul CEO İbrahim Turhan has denied such claims, saying that the call was made based on market logic.

The bank has come under attack by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) following the Dec. 17 corruption investigations. The government has attempted to sink the bank via a series of measures, including persuading companies and individuals to withdraw deposits from the bank.
The bank's profits have plunged in recent months. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed that the Islamic lender had “already sunk” earlier this month despite the fact it still has one of the highest capital adequacy ratios in the country.

Erdoğan's unwarranted attacks against Bank Asya drew a wave of criticism from many circles including the opposition parties, which warned the government about triggering a financial and banking crisis in Turkey. Erdoğan's battle with Bank Asya also widened cracks between the president and the government, whose leading figures -- including the prime minister -- seem to have recently distanced themselves from Erdoğan's irresponsible behavior.

Meanwhile on Friday, the US dollar dropped slightly below the 2.26 level to 2.2560. The dollar had previously surpassed 2.27 on Thursday, as the lira has steadily depreciated in value throughout the month of September. It stood at 2.15 against the dollar at the beginning of the month. The dollar dropped below the 2.26 mark following that announcement from the Central Bank of Turkey that the daily foreign exchange auction amount would be hiked from $10 million to $40 million in an effort to combat exchange-rate volatility. The dollar again moved past the 2.26 threshold on Friday afternoon.

Borsa İstanbul opened in the second session at 74,783 points, having begun the day over the 75,000 mark and slightly receding.(Cihan/Today's Zaman)