With the Decision Amending the Decree No. 32 on the Protection of the Value of the Turkish Currency ("Amendment Decision"), published in the Official Gazette dated 15 March 2025 and numbered 32842, significant amendments have been made to the Decree No. 32 on the Protection of the Value of the Turkish Currency ("Decree No. 32") regarding derivative and leveraged transactions, and guarantees and sureties to be provided in foreign currency for loans in foreign currency or precious metals.
The Key Change in Derivative Transactions
Before the Amendment Decision, the purchase and sale of all types of derivative instruments, including futures and options contracts from abroad, were required to be conducted through banks and brokerage firms authorised by the Capital Markets Board of Türkiye (the “CMB”), provided that the fund transfers were made through banks.
In addition to this provision, the Amendment Decision introduces an exception and sets out that Turkish residents engaging in such transactions with foreign financial institutions by way of reverse solicitation are not required to use financial institutions licensed by the CMB as intermediaries. However, the relevant fund transfers must still be conducted through Turkish banks. Additionally, with the Amendment Decision, the previous version, which only covered foreign currency fund transfers under this restriction, has been revised to also include transfers made in Turkish lira.
New Rules on Leveraged Transactions
The requirement for Turkish residents to carry out leveraged transactions and derivative instrument transactions subject to the same provisions as leveraged transactions exclusively through CMB-authorised institutions has been retained without alteration.
In addition to this provision, the Amendment Decision provides that banks, pursuant to Banking Law No. 5411, and payment and electronic money institutions, pursuant to Law No. 6493 on Payment and Securities Settlement Systems, Payment Services, and Electronic Money Institutions, must take the necessary measures to ensure compliance with this restriction.
Amendments to Rules on Foreign Currency Guarantees and Sureties
Based on the argument a contrario of Article 18 of Decree No. 32, the pre-existing restriction prohibited Turkish residents from providing foreign currency-denominated guarantees and sureties to other Turkish residents. With the Amendment Decision, it has now been explicitly stipulated that the direct shareholders or group companies of Turkish residents who have obtained loans in foreign currency or precious metals from banks and financial institutions established in Türkiye may provide such guarantees and sureties in foreign currency to these Turkish banks and financial institutions for such loans.
For more information on the decision and its impact on your company or business, please contact your CMS partner or local CMS expert: Dr. Döne Yalçın and Alaz Eker Ündar.
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