Türkiye is preparing changes to its Capital Markets Law that will strengthen the market regulator’s powers to intervene early and make penalties for market abuse more of a deterrent, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said on Wednesday, as parliament began approving a bill on the liquidation of troubled investment funds.
Presenting the 2027 central government budget to parliament’s Plan and Budget Committee, Yılmaz said the amendment aims to better protect investors, increase the institutional capacity of the Capital Markets Board (SPK) and strengthen its early intervention authority, daily Hürriyet’s Bigpara reported. The SPK is Türkiye’s equivalent of a securities and exchange commission, overseeing brokerages, investment funds and Borsa Istanbul listings.
‘Investor or manipulator’
Turning to the turmoil in the investment fund market, Yılmaz said the government’s priorities were to take the necessary administrative and judicial steps, liquidate the problem funds, protect investors’ rights and stop the risk from spreading to other parts of the market.
He said a State Supervisory Board, appointed by the president, was investigating the fund problems and that its findings would guide the next steps. Judicial and administrative processes would be carried out carefully, Yılmaz said, without confusing investors with manipulators. Once the liquidation bill becomes law, the government expects to start early payments to investors quickly.
Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said earlier this week that gains above 10 million lira would be targeted for refunds while small investors would be paid first. A fund coordination board has paid out 40.8 billion lira to investors so far.
Liquidation bill clears first articles
According to Anadolu Agency, the General Assembly adopted the first five articles of the bill on certain investment funds whose liquidation has been ordered. It applies to funds the SPK ordered liquidated in decisions dated Sept. 17, 2026, where the process has not been completed by the time the law is published.
The bill provides for a fair, transparent and effective liquidation, the recovery of assets unlawfully taken out of funds, the collection of losses from those responsible and the payment of recovered amounts to fund unitholders. Its provisions will not create a general or permanent liquidation and liability regime for other funds. Deputy Speaker Tekin Bingöl closed the session after the five articles were passed, with debate on the remaining articles set to continue.
The announcement follows a presidential decree published on Oct. 20 that removed SPK Chairman Mahmut Sütcü from office.
The fund crisis has weighed on Turkish markets, with the BIST 100 falling 4.44% in a week. Separately, JP Morgan Menkul Değerler said it would apply to the SPK to give up its capital markets licence, giving customers with claims three months to submit documents. Foreign residents who hold Turkish funds through local banks should follow announcements from their bank and the SPK; our moving to Türkiye checklist covers setting up banking as a newcomer.
Sources
- ‘SPK’nın erken müdahale yetkisi güçlendirilecek’ (Bigpara/Hürriyet)
- Ekonomiye taze kan (Bigpara/Hürriyet)
- JP Morgan izninin iptalini isteyecek (Bigpara/Hürriyet)
Photo: Clemens Holzmeister (1893-1983) Makril / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
