Gov't says it is 'clarifying' issues related to planned transfer of CHP's İşbank shares to Treasury

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Amid recent reports that the Turkish government has accelerated its legal works to transfer the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP)'s stakes in İşbank to the Treasury, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has said that such reports should be disregarded unless an official statement came from the government.

Transfer of CHP's İşbank shares to Treasury back on Erdoğan's agenda

“Do not take other statements into account regarding İşbank issue or other issues, before we release a statement. We are clarifying the question marks. Await news from us,” AKP group deputy chair Mehmet Muş told journalists at the parliament on June 5.

DailyHürriyet reported on May 14 that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hadin a recent meeting urged his senior AKP officials to finalize thework on legal aspects of the transfer.

Just a few week later on May 20, Turkish journalist Can Ataklı wrote in his column in the newspaper Korkusuz that the AKP legal experts were “intensively” working on the proposed transfer and it was very likely of the government to present a bill concerning the relevant legislative change to the parliament early in June.

42 percent of Turks do not support plans to seize CHP's shares in İşbank

Meanwhile, some 42.4 percent of Turks do not support the government's plans to seize the CHP's 28 percent stake in the nation's largest lender, according to a survey conducted by research firm Metropoll. The survey's results were revealed on June 4.

Asked if they find the government's move regarding this issue “right,” some 42.4 percent survey participants said “No,” while 34.9 percent said “Yes.” The remaining 22.7 percent said “I do not have an idea/No answer.”

The transfer the CHP's shares in İşbank has long been on the agenda of the government. Erdoğan said in 2019 that the transfer would happen “sooner or later," while in February of this year he said the issue will no longer be delayed.

After the death of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, in 1938, his 28.1 percent stake in İşbank was transferred to the CHP. The CHP has four members on the İşbank executive board and the party do not get a dividend payout from the bank.

Under Atatürk’s will, the profits of these shares go to the Turkish Language Institution (TDK) and the Turkish History Institution (TKK).

In addition to the CHP stake, İşbank has a 31.4 percent free float and 40.5 percent is held by the İşbank pension fund.