Turkish Bourse Temporarily Bans Short Selling of Halkbank Shares -- Update

   By Yeliz Kazan

ISTANBUL--Borsa Istanbul, the Turkish stock-market operator, temporarily banned short selling in Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS (HALKB.IS) shares Wednesday, a day after U.S. prosecutors charged the Turkish state-owned lender with taking part in a multibillion-dollar scheme to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Borsa Istanbul also banned short selling in six other publicly-traded banks, Akbank TAS (AKBNK.IS), Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS (GARAN.IS),Turkiye Is Bankasi AS (ISCTR.IS), TSKB Gayrimenkul Yatirim Ortakligi AS (TSGYO.IS), Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi AS (YKBNK.IS) and Turkiye Vakiflar Bankasi TAO (VAKBN.IS). The operator didn't say how long the ban would remain in force.

In a separate statement, the Capital Markets Board of Turkey said the move would protect the rights and benefits of investors and ensure functioning of the capital markets in a reliable, transparent and stable environment.

The Halkbank indictment was unsealed by New York prosecutors Tuesday as President Trump's administration is heightening pressure on Turkey to halt a military offensive in northeast Syria.

Halkbank said it was innocent and would exert all legitimate recourses against what it called an "unwarranted case."

Halkbank shares were down 5.4% in early afternoon trading in Istanbul.

Analysts said the short-selling ban was aimed at preventing speculative transactions in banking shares amid high volatility risks on currency markets.

"If the lira does weaken over time this will hit the banks' profitability and their share price," Nigel Rendell, an analyst at Medley Global Advisors in London, said. "It looks like the authorities are trying to guard against this by restricting short selling and therefore curtailing returns from those who might want to bet against the banks."

Turkey's main BIST-100 index traded 1.2% lower in early trading, while the Turkish lira was up 0.5% against the dollar.

Write to Yeliz Kazan at yeliz.kazan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 16, 2019 09:24 ET (13:24 GMT)

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