The process regarding the liquidation of 131 investment funds was brought to the agenda during the discussions held at the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) Planning and Budget Committee. During the meeting where the legislative proposal regarding the liquidation of investment funds was accepted by the committee, the Capital Markets Board's (CMB) audit and intervention processes were also discussed.
Responding to the questions of the deputies, CMB Second Chairman Ahmet Aksu stated that the period granted for compliance with the fund guide was not waited for after default and default risk were observed in some funds. Aksu said that for this reason, it was decided to liquidate 131 funds as of September 17.
Aksu stated that concentration in free funds increased last year and that unusual transactions began to be detected during this process. Explaining that regulatory efforts were initiated in line with ministry statements, letters from the prosecutor's office, and decisions taken by the Financial Stability Committee, Aksu reminded that the monetary threshold for qualified investors was also increased from 1 million liras to 10 million liras.
TEFAS AND VALUATION REGULATIONS
According to the information provided by Aksu, improvements were made to the TEFAS infrastructure to ensure that the default of some funds does not negatively affect other fund investors. While the TEFAS implementation principles were being prepared on June 17, regulations regarding the valuation of real estate and other assets in free funds were also brought to the agenda.
Stating that the draft fund guide was announced to the public on August 29, Aksu said that the guide covers all funds and that different compliance periods were granted to portfolio management companies. Aksu stated that there are calendars extending to October 31 for some obligations, December 31 for others, and into the year 2027.
In the committee, criticisms were also voiced that the CMB was late in the process and that the sanctions were insufficient. Aksu stated that audits were carried out simultaneously with regulatory efforts, and that letters from the prosecutor's office and warnings and feedback from Borsa Istanbul were evaluated by the relevant units. Regarding the criticisms about the penalties, he replied that the sanctions were applied within the framework stipulated by the law.
Responding to a question regarding the opening of the Tera Portföy free fund to TEFAS without CMB approval, Aksu said that after the situation was detected, the company's defense was taken and then a penalty was imposed. IYI Party Samsun Deputy Erhan Usta argued that the intervention was delayed, stating that during this process, the number of investors in the fund increased from 161 to 111 thousand, and its size grew to 268 billion liras.
Pointing to the investigation conducted by the State Supervisory Council in the discussions regarding the responsibility of the CMB, Aksu said, "Whatever comes out of that audit, how much the responsibilities of the CMB are or where the disruptions are within the system will be clear. We will all accept the result that comes out of there."
News Source: 12punto
