Türkiye’s banking watchdog has proposed a draft regulation to restrict the tenures of financial institution executives, a report stated on Thursday, in a transfer that may come after a high-profile scandal at one of many nation’s high personal lenders.
According to the brand new rule, CEOs could be restricted to a most of 10 years of their roles on the identical financial institution, Bloomberg News reported, citing a draft of the regulation ready by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK).
Their deputies’ phrases would even be restricted to 10 years, with the potential of a one-time extension of as much as 5 years with particular permission from the regulators. The variety of deputy basic managers will not exceed 15 per lender, in keeping with the draft.
The initiative follows the fallout from a monetary scandal at United Arab Emirates-based lender Emirates NBD’s Türkiye unit Denizbank, the place Seçil Erzan, a former department supervisor, allegedly orchestrated a bootleg scheme involving guarantees of excessive returns.
Erzan allegedly amassed thousands and thousands of {dollars} from high-profile soccer gamers, together with Arda Turan, a former Barcelona midfielder, and Uruguayan Galatasaray goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. Denizbank has denied any position in wrongdoing.
According to indictment, Erzan satisfied them to spend money on the fund partly by telling them that former Turkish nationwide workforce coach Fatih Terim had additionally invested.
Under the case opened in 2023, prosecutors sought a 216-year jail time period for Erzan. According to indictment, she defrauded some $44 million from 18 people, promising substantial returns on their investments in a “secret special fund.”
Erzan, who has been jailed because the case in opposition to her continues, alleged that Denizbank CEO Hakan Ateş was conscious of the scheme, a declare the latter has repeatedly denied. Ateş stepped down from his position final month after 27 years on the helm however stays on the financial institution’s board.
In November, he was indicted for his alleged position within the scheme. But the court docket returned the indictment to prosecutors, citing inadequate proof.
Ateş, 65, served because the CEO since 1997 and is credited with main Denizbank via main development phases, together with its acquisition by Dubai’s largest lender from Russia’s Sberbank in 2019 for about $2.7 billion
The proposed BDDK regulation additionally features a cap of 4 years for department managers throughout the identical financial institution, and 5 years for regional managers.
Banks are anticipated to adjust to the brand new tips as of June 30, 2025, if the proposal is enacted.
The regulation would mark a serious departure from present practices in Türkiye’s banking sector, the place prolonged tenures for executives are widespread. The transfer is seen as a step towards making certain a extra dynamic and clear sector, lowering dangers tied to entrenched management.
Source: www.dailysabah.com