By Yeliz Candemir
ISTANBUL--Turkey's Competition Board has fined 12 banks a total
of 1.116 billion Turkish lira ($618 million) in a rate-setting
probe for breaching competition rules, it said Friday.
In November 2011, the country's Competition Board launched an
investigation into 12 Turkish banks to determine whether they acted
together on setting maximum deposit rates, loan rates, credit card
fees and charges.
The banks fined were local operators Garanti Bankasi
(GAREN.F.IS), Akbank T.A.S. (AKBNK.IS), Denizbank A.S. (DENIZ.IS),
Finansbank (IST30.F.IS), Turk Ekonomi Bankasi A.S. (TEBNK.IS),
Vakifbank, Ziraat Bank, Halk Bank (HALKB.IS), Is Bank and Yapi
Kredi Bank (YKBO.IS), as well as foreign banks HSBC (HBC) and ING
Bank.
Hearings against the banks were held on Feb. 25 and 26, when the
banks denied forming a price-setting cartel.
Write to Yeliz Candemir at yeliz.candemir@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires