Borsa Istanbul is removing a factoring company at the center of Turkey’s crackdown on investment funds from its indexes of the country’s most valuable stocks.
Destek Finans Faktoring AS has been removed from the Borsa Istanbul 30 Index and the Borsa Istanbul 100 Index, according to a statement from the exchange announcing quarterly changes to its benchmarks. The exchange also excluded finance company Katilimevim Tasarruf Finansman AS from the 100-stock index.
Destek Finans and Katilimevim had been among the stocks at the center of fund strategies that Turkish authorities cracked down this month. Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said fund companies were involved in “Ponzi-like schemes,” pushing up the prices of thinly traded stocks.
Shares of Destek, which were added to BIST 30 Index in September last year, soared almost 7,500% from its February 2025 initial public offering through its peak in July. It market value climbed to as much as 1.31 trillion lira despite the company having only net income of 2.6 billion lira in the first half.
Stock moves such as those led to criticism from some investors that abnormal gains were distorting Turkish equity indexes’ ability to reflect the broader market trend.
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Regulators cracked down in August on the strategies that led to big gains in Destek and other shares. They tightened rules on stock funds with concentrated holdings in companies with limited free floats, forcing some managers to unwind positions.
That prompted a rush of cash out of the investments funds this month. But some portfolios managed by firms including Tera Portfoy and Pusula Portfoy were unable to meet redemption requests last week. Authorities stepped in to seize 131 funds, run by seven asset managers, which are being liquidated with steep stock losses.
Authorities detained several high-profile finance executives over the weekend, including Tera Yatirim Menkul Degerler AS Chairman Emre Tezmen and board members Emre Alkin and Kerem Alkin. Pusula Holding Chairman Serdar Turhan was also detained, while local media reported the arrest of Destek Chairman Altunc Kumova, who controls a 74% stake.
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Among BIST 30 constituents, Destek Finans was the stock to which the funds facing liquidation have the largest exposure, according to a QNB Invest report on Friday. The stricken portfolios held about 70 billion liras of Destek stock, accounting for roughly 66% of its free float, according to the report.
Bankers at Tera Yatirim managed Destek’s stock listing, and the shares were among the biggest holdings of Tera’s flagship fund.
Borsa Istanbul also excluded a total of 27 stocks from its BIST 100 Index late Monday, including Pasifik Eurasia, Odine Teknoloji, Kiler Holding and Isiklar Enerji.
Shares of Destek Finans have tumbled 34% in the past week. Katilimevim, owned by Pusula Holding, slumped 68% this month.
Destek was among the stocks that global index provider MSCI Inc. removed from its small-cap benchmarks in May, on grounds of “issues with their free float.” MSCI and other index firms later expressed concerns regarding shareholder transparency, free floats and accessibility.
Turkey’s market regulator announced measures this month to increase shareholder transparency by bringing new criteria to free-float calculations and requiring more detailed ownership information.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
