Turkey fines 10 firms over short-selling irregularities

Turkey has decided to fine 10 international investment institutions a total of TL 26.4 million ($3.2 million) over irregularities in short-selling transactions, the country’s Capital Markets Board (SPK) said.

Fines of various amounts were imposed on firms including Merrill Lynch International, JP Morgan Securities, Goldman Sachs International, Credit Suisse Securities Europe and Barclays Capital Securities, the board said in its weekly bulletin on Thursday.

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Last July, Turkey’s Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange (BIST) applied a temporary short-selling ban on various foreign institutions because they failed to notify authorities about short-selling transactions.

The statement said the board has decided to impose an administrative fine of TL 1.2 million on Gedik Yatırım Menkul Değerler and HSBC Yatırım Menkul Değerler over what it said was a failure to receive a declaration from the customer that the capital market instrument sold in short sales transactions carried out on July 1, 2020, is capable of being deposited and will be transferred to the brokerage firm by the date of the swap.