Short Selling Ban Not Extended
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Recent Developments
The Capital Markets Board (“CMB“) did not extend the short selling ban, certain facilities provided for share buybacks of listed companies and the flexibility of the maintenance margin ratio in transactions on credit brought with its announcement made pursuant to the resolution dated 23 March 2025 and numbered 18/574 (“Announcement“).
The CMB had introduced these provisions to be effective until the end of the session on 24 April 2025. It then extended the effective period with subsequent resolutions adopted during the following period. The effective period was last extended until the end of the session on 29 August 2025, with the announcement made pursuant to the CMB’s resolution dated 27 June 2025 and numbered 37/117. You can refer to our legal bulletin regarding these provisions here.
What’s New?
With the expiration of the effective period, the regime prior to the Announcement is now reinstated. Accordingly, the following will apply:
- The announcement made pursuant to the CMB’s resolution dated 5 December 2024 and numbered 62/1863 regarding the short selling ban on the Borsa İstanbul A.Ş. (“BIST“) equity markets is reinstated. Accordingly, the short selling ban on shares included in the BIST-50 index is lifted.
- Rules on the upper limit of the price order for buyback, rules stipulating that buyback orders cannot be given at certain time periods during the day and that no private order can be given within the buyback program, and the rule stipulating that the total value of the shares purchased under the buyback program cannot exceed the total amount of items that can be subject to dividend distribution under the CMB regulations have been reinstated. However, the CMB’s resolution numbered i-SPK.22.9 (dated 19 March 2025 and numbered 16/531) regarding the initiation of a buyback program by a board of directors’ resolution without requiring a general assembly resolution remains in effect.
- The practice whereby brokerage firms could apply a minimum maintenance margin ratio of at least 20% for transactions on credit has ended. Thus, the minimum maintenance margin ratio must be applied at 35% pursuant to the applicable law.
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