Turkey's banking watchdog said Friday that it fined 16 financial institutions a total of TL 2.1 million ($310,000) over transactions that violated the watchdog’s instructions.

The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) said in a statement released on its website that it fined the institutions after examining "the complaints by individual and commercial customers conveyed to our institution during the period of battling the COVID-19 outbreak."

It said the institutions violated regulations on the establishment and operating principles of financial leasing and factoring companies as well as the establishment and operating principles of asset management companies.

The BDDK did not name the institutions but said they were not operating as banks.

In May, the watchdog fined more than 15 banks a total of TL 121.75 million for carrying out transactions against its orders.