Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) Chairman Şakir Ercan Gül said any funds remaining as a result of Bank Asya's liquidation process will be rendered to the bank's shareholders in accordance with their share percentage.
Highlighting that Bank Asya is different from other banks due to its ties to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), Gül stated the TMSF has been managing the bank for one and a half years. He referred to the fund's efforts to sell the bank, saying, "We made a decision on the liquidation of the bank on July 18, as it found no customers on July 15. Interestingly enough, a coup attempt took place on that night."
According to Gül, the process of paying deposits will not be immediately initiated and the finalization of the liquidation process will be delayed. The law regarding deposits grants a three-month period for payments, which will expire this month. It is possible to extend this period for three more months.
There are nearly TL 2 billion ($653 million) worth of deposits in the bank, including TL 950 million worth of insured deposits. Gül said they estimate that the bank has enough assets to satisfy all of its creditors, adding that the bank's total receivables and assets will be converted to cash following the liquidation process. An order table will be created to manage the liquidation process in a way that satisfies all right holders, starting with first-degree right holders.
As part of the liquidation, Bank Asya's subsidiaries, including pension and insurance companies, have been put up for sale in the first phase. The savings in the Asya Emeklilik pension company will be assessed by the purchasing parties. The state subsidies to the savings will continue as the current procedures require.
If the bank has any remaining funds after the liquidation process, these will be distributed to the bank's shareholders in accordance with the percentage of their shares. Those belonging to shareholders or depositors who are on trial, charged for their ties to FETÖ, will be kept until judicial processes are finalized.
If the bank's assets fall short of paying the insured deposits, its immovable properties will be sold as the law stipulates. The TMSF has not yet asked the court for the bank's bankruptcy as the insured deposits have not been paid. "At the moment, the bank is hovering between bankruptcy and liquidation," Gül said.
On May 29, 2015, Turkey's banking watchdog ruled for the complete TMSF takeover of all shares of Bank Asya, which was believed to be the main financial institution for the controversial Gülen Movement and affiliated companies, due to the bank's failure to fulfill its obligations under the scope of Article 70 of the Banking Law that regulates the BDDK's intervention in troubled banks. The BDDK added that the trouble in Bank Asya's financial structure, its maladministration and operations pose risks to depositors as well as to the security and stability of the financial system.
