Shares of Türkiye's state lender Halkbank surged nearly 10% on Tuesday, with analysts linking it to the anticipation that a U.S. case against the bank will end on June 10.
This would potentially enable faster growth at Halkbank because it could reopen non-deposit funding channels, they said, highlighting the end of a 90-day deadline for the bank to demonstrate compliance with a U.S. agreement signed in March.
The shares were last up by around 1.8% at TL 48.7 at 1 p.m. local time (10 a.m. GMT) on Wednesday.
"Linking the recent moves in the stock to speculation surrounding the approaching end of this process would not be wrong," said Ata Invest Deputy General Manager for Research Cemal Demirtaş, adding that limited liquidity in Halkbank's shares was also contributing to sharp price swings.
Shares in Halkbank have risen 25% year-to-date, while Türkiye's main banking index is down 6%.
Halkbank, which was accused of having allegedly helped Tehran evade U.S. economic sanctions, signed an agreement in March forbidding it from entering into transactions that benefit Iran.
It said it would not admit to any criminal wrongdoing and would not pay any judicial or administrative fines.
Following the deal, Halkbank hired Ernst & Young to review its compliance with U.S. sanctions and anti-money laundering policies, lawyers for the bank said in a court filing in March.
