Turkey proposes fines for financial market manipulation

Proposed amendments to Turkey's banking laws will introduce fines for financial market manipulation and increase penalties for other violations, the BDDK banking watchdog said on Thursday. The amendments, which state-owned Anadolu agency said were presented to parliament by President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party, aimed to update banking laws that came into effect in 2005.

"As per EU directives and implementation in peer countries it is seen appropriate to impose an administrative fine for manipulative acts in financial markets," it said, adding that the old measures were of limited scope. The amendments will also transfer authority to determine the level of fees and commission for banking operations to the Turkish central bank, it said.

The BDDK said it will evaluate banks' prevention plans as part of a more pro-active inspection process under the changes, which will also allow development and investment banks to provide funding without interest, as Islamic banks do.

They also introduce new measures regarding the protection of personal and corporate data by banks. The government has introduced a series of rules and regulations since a currency crisis in 2018 knocked nearly 30% off the value of the Turkish lira.