The CMB has announced with its decision dated December 29, 2011 numbered 44/1174 the classification of investment funds criteria. This new approach has no effect on current descriptions and types of funds; however it regroups the current investment funds under nine different titles according to their investment strategies for the benefit of investors.

The Decree Law No. 91 on Securities Exchanges (published in the Official Gazette dated October 6, 1986 and numbered 18183) has been amended by the Decree Law No. 662 (published in the Official Gazette dated November 2, 2011 and numbered 28103 bis.) Accordingly, the board of directors of the ISE will now constitute of seven members instead of the five applicable before the amendment. The president of the board is also the president of the ISE. The president and three members of the board shall be appointed by a joint decree of the relevant minister, prime minister and the president of the Republic further to the proposal of the minister in charge of the CMB.

On December 16, 2011, the CMB announced a draft amendment to Communiqué Serial No.V/7 on Repo and Reverse Repos (published in the Official Gazette dated July 31, 1992 and numbered 21301), namely the treasury’s external debt instruments such as Eurobonds and also some shares traded on the ISE can be subject to repo transactions. The shares which may be subject to repo transactions will be defined by the ISE board and announced to the public.

On October 27, 2011, the BRSA announced with its decision (published in the Official Gazette dated October 28, 2011 and numbered 28098) that it had granted permission for the establishment of a new deposit taking bank with a minimum capital of TL equivalent of $300 million to the Audi s.a.l – Audi Saradar Group based in Lebanon. The BRSA’s permission for the establishment of a new bank is the first since the current Banking Law entered into force at the end of 2005. The permission for deposit taking is also the first since 2004.

During October 2011, two participation banks applied to the CMB for the registration of their lease (sukuk) certificates. The lease certificates, similar to ijara sukuk, were introduced to the CMB legislation in April 2010 but the required regulations on tax and other matters have very recently been completed. Accordingly, the total value of lease certificates registered by the CMB amounts to $550 million. However, due to global market instability, the certificates have not been sold yet.

The CMB announced on September 27, 2011 that further to the entry into force of the Communiqué of the CMB Serial No. V/125 on Principles regarding Leveraged Sale and Purchase Transactions and Institutions to Realise these Transactions (published in the Official Gazette dated August 28, 2011 and numbered 28038), no intermediary institutions have been granted the license for leveraged transactions, though there have been a number of applications for obtainment. However, solicitation of local investors by foreign companies is against the relevant legislation and may be subject to sanctions. Local investors may open accounts and enter into transactions on their own initiative and outside the scope of the CMB legislation. Furthermore, the CMB has also announced minimum standards for framework agreements and IT infrastructure for institutions that can obtain the relevant licenses.