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Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Islamic economic system is the key to getting out of crisis as global economy continues to suffer from coronavirus pandemic. President Erdogan said the loss of nearly 440,000 lives worldwide can't be attributed to Covid-19 alone, saying many countries have an economic system that protects only strong and the rich. Erdogan said Turkey is among the countries that has fought the pandemic with the least damage. Pointing out the country’s first-quarter growth of 4.5%, Erdogan said that Turkey has shown that it distinguished itself positively from other countries not only in the health sector but also in the economy, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the ongoing Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019, leaders of the Muslim world have pressed for alternative currency for use in trade and seek independence from US Dollar. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Muslim countries should try to create new transaction systems. He added that Islamic finance needs to be part of the agenda just like in Malaysia. Meanwhile, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani was of the view that Muslim nations should come up with a new own cryptocurrency. Malaysia's Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad also believes that a united cryptocurrency is needed for Muslim states, as a cryptocurrency can cut through bureaucratic and market fluctuations. He added that utilising cryptocurrency or national currency would help attain independence from over-reliance on the US dollar.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention warrants for 78 senior executives of Bank Asya, which was confiscated by the Turkish government. Bank Asya was associated with the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016 due to its links to the Gülen movement. Forty-seven of the 78 bank executives have been detained so far on suspicion of membership in an armed terrorist organization and financing a terrorist organization.
Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement. According to a report by the state-run Anadolu news agency, 154,694 individuals have been detained and 50,136 have been jailed due to alleged Gülen links.

An unknown group of people have purposefully leaked new allegations surrounding the Turkey-based bank Kuveyt-Turk. A press release published on Nov. 19 claimed that US Senator Dick Durbin would hold hearings to investigate two key banking institutions in Kuwait and whether they helped fund terrorism. The press release read that Durbin would target Kuwait Finance House and its subsidiary in Turkey, the Kuveyt-Turk participation bank. A spokesman at Senator Durbin's office flatly denied the report and said it was completely false. The fake report has surfaced amidst an ongoing court case in California against the two banks on the terror funding charges. Kuveyt-Turk's lawyers dismissed the charges by saying the allegations have no merit because banks are not responsible for the allegations. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the allegations over Kuveyt-Turk and Kuwait Finance House were proof of Western double standards.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said people in Turkey paid some of the world's highest interest rates, something which had to change soon. He said the overnight interest rate reached 7,500 percent after Turkey’s economic crisis of 2001. The Turkish leader suggested adopting the gold standard to combat international pressures. Erdogan also said he had no words on the central bank's independence but said that as a politician he had a responsibility to the public who were being hurt by high rates. Turkey's Borsa Istanbul and the IDB signed a strategic cooperation agreement which aims to expand Islamic finance in Turkey and other IDB member countries. According to the agreement, the IDB will explore opportunities for its strategic stake acquisition from the country's exchange operator, Borsa Istanbul.

Islamic entities known as participation banks offer bonds with potentially greater upside and more stability than standard government debt. According to a recent report from Standard & Poor’s, participation banks doubled their share of the country’s overall banking assets to about 5% between 2005 to 2015. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s support for further integration of Islamic law into all walks of life means participation banks are likely to grow. The system’s assets could reach some $300 billion by 2025, according to the Participation Banks Association of Turkey.

The Turkish Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) announced it would temporarily suspend operations in Bank Asya, which is closely associated with the cleric Fethullah Gulen. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed Gulen and his supporters for the coup attempt on Friday in which more than 200 people have been killed. The coup attempt was suppressed by early Saturday as 103 army generals and admirals were detained. The arrests now amount to a third of the country’s top military officials.

Turkey’s banking regulator took control of Bank Asya, stepping up a year-long campaign against the Islamic lender a day after self-exiled Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen criticized the government from his base in the U.S. The Savings Deposit Insurance Fund, or TMSF, the agency responsible for resolving failed banks, appointed a new chief executive officer and board of directors late Tuesday, the bank said in a filing. Its activities will continue without “any disruption” under the new management. The government’s move against Bank Asya has been expected for quite some time now. The timing of the Bank Asya move intends to minimize the damage of the decline in investor confidence.

Bank Asya’s problems – withdrawal of deposits by individual and corporate investors, the wiping out of profits, the dramatic fall in share price – have apparently nothing to do with the way the bank is run. They have everything to do with a politically-motivated vendetta against the bank by Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A year on, Bank Asya continues to operate under the leadership of a former senior member of Turkey’s respected banking supervisor, the BDDK, which has tried to remain impartial to Erdogan’s machinations. But the battle for Bank Asya remains a cloud over the Turkish banking sector. Banks that do business in Turkey should tread with caution.

Ahmet Beyaz, the chief executive of Turkey’s government-besieged Bank Asya, says his bank is the victim of a political campaign waged by Turkey’s powerful president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Beyaz and his executive vice-president Feyzullah Egriboyun claim the repeated attacks on the bank clearly constitute a crime under Turkey’s strict banking legislation. The Turkish president has denied any orchestrated campaign against Bank Asya. He went on to say "this bank has already failed", without naming Bank Asya. Such claims are wrong, Beyaz says, insisting Bank Asya is among the three strongest banks in Turkey, boasting a capital adequacy ratio at about 20%. Bank Asya supporters argue that the Erdogan attacks on Bank Asya pose a systemic risk to the wider Turkish banking system.

Speculation publicly expressed by President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an that Bank Asya doesn't have a sound structure and his obvious attempts to sink this bank constitute a crime under Turkish law, according to Selin Sayek Böke, the Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy chair in charge of the economy. Sharing her opinions about the current economic situation in Turkey, Böke stated that Turkey has further potential for growth, but its economy is currently in stagnation. She attributes this situation to structural problems. The current decline in the practice of democracy and the erosion of the rule of law will likely cause further trouble ahead, as investors are already unwilling to make big investments in a country with an increasingly authoritarian government and leaders.

Do?an Cans?zlar, former head of the Capital Markets Board (SPK), has warned, in light of claims that a number of Turkish banks are in difficulty, that a smear campaign orchestrated by President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an against Bank Asya could lead to a worse financial crisis than the one Turkey suffered back in 2001. At the beginning of the week, Erdo?an publicly threatened independent regulatory body, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), over its lack of action against Bank Asya, saying the agency must take a decision on the bank and follow through on it. The banking industry may be in worse shape than many think. On Tuesday Twitter user @fuatavni revealed the names of eight banks that he maintains are in financial difficulties.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister of Turkey, reinforced his credentials as a political leader of the Muslim world at the Sharjah Government Communication Forum this week. Besides championing of political causes in the region, he used the forum for the enhancement of his country's economic and trade relations with GCC states. A memorandum of understanding signed by investment officials from Turkey and Sharjah aims to extend further the business relationship between Turkey and a UAE emirate. Mr Erdogan certainly seems to have pulled back from full-blown commitment to a Europe-orientated strategy. In contrast, trade and economic relations to the south-east are blossoming.

The issuance of Turkey's first sovereign sukuk this week marks a shift in the government's policy. For ten long years Tayyip Erdogan's government backed away from Islamic finance in order to maintain state secularism. However, the sukuk will help the country to large amounts of money from Islamic investment funds and will become a benchmark for the pricing of future Islamic bond issues in the Turkish private sector. Further development in the offered Islamic financial products is expected.

More on: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/19/turkey-islamic-finance-idUSL5E...

After the initial announcement that the Turkish Treasury has mandated Citigroup, HSBC and Liquidity Management House (LMH) to inspect existing opportunities for a Lease Certificate issuance, it turns out that the mandate aim to advise and structure Turkey's proposed debut sovereign Sukuk Al-Ijara. In this context, a number of investor meetings in significant financial centers in the Middle East and Asia are organized and will take place until Thursday.