The investigation conducted in order to determine whether banks providing loans to corporate customers in Turkey violated article 4 of the Act no 4054 by exchanging competitively sensitive information for current loan agreements, including information related to credit terms such as interest rates and credit periods, as well as information related to other financial transactions.

As a result of the discussion of the file by the Competition Board on 28.11.2017, the following decisions were taken:

• Bank of TokyoMitsubishi UFJ Turkey A.Ş.,
• ING Bank A.Ş.,
• The Royal Bank of Scotland Plc. Headquarters Edinburgh İstanbul Main Branch

should be imposed administrative fines under article 16.3 of the same Act; however, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Turkey A.Ş. should not be imposed administrative fines under article 16.6 of the Act no 4054;

• Citibank A.Ş.,
• Deutsche Bank A.Ş.,
• HSBC Bank A.Ş.,
• JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. Merkezi Columbus Ohio İstanbul Turkey Branch
• MerriII Lynch Yatırım Bank A.Ş.,
• Société Générale (S.A.) Paris Merkezi Fransa İstanbul Türkiye Main Branch,
• Standard Chartered Yatırım Bankası Türk A.Ş.,
• Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation,
• Türk Ekonomi Bankası A.Ş., and
• UBS AG 

did not violate article 4 of the Act no 4054; therefore the abovementioned undertakings should not be imposed administrative fines under article 16 of the same Act.

Click here for the text of the pronouncement (in Turkish) for the decision dated 28.11.2017 and numbered 17-39/636-276, the reasoned version of which will be notified later and which can be appealed before Ankara Administrative Courts.