When will the Istanbul Financial Center open?

Chairman of the Presidential Office of Finance Prof. Dr. Göksel Aşan made remarks on the transfer process to the Istanbul Financial Center (IFC).

“The buildings are finished. There are some fixes on it,” Aşan said, “I hope they will be in a condition to be moved around the end of the year or January. Especially the Central Bank building will probably be the new symbol of Istanbul.”

‘ALL REGULATORY INSTITUTIONS TOGETHER’

Aşan spoke at the panel held on the sidelines of the 2023 Turkey Summit and Money Talks.

Stating that the landscaping will be done and that it is a big project in a very wide area, Aşan said, “You feel very proud when you enter. Especially the Central Bank building will probably be the new symbol of Istanbul. An iconic building, its architecture was very beautiful. We believe that when IFC opens, it will activate quickly and achieve serious occupancy.”

Stating that Istanbul is already a financial center and the apple of the eye of the region, Aşan argued that IFC will make this more effective and add a bit more value.

Mentioning the importance of all regulatory institutions being together, Aşan noted that when such an area is created and a specific legal regulation is made for this area, it will ensure that financial products and activities that were not previously in Istanbul will be take to istanbul

PARTICIPATION FINANCING EXPLANATION

Aşan also made assessments on the regulations on participation financing and stated the following:

“The Participation Financing Strategy Document made a lot of noise. We also get a lot of positive feedback. It is clear that a part of the country was waiting for this and it seems to respond to a need.

The mere existence of a law that regulates this matter is a message in itself.

The fact that there is a clearer and more understandable sector that is not treated as part of banking, rather than the articles incorporated in banking or capital markets laws, is a message in itself.

One of the most critical issues for us is to increase the credibility of this sector in society. The first clients of this sector are conservative people sensitive to interests. We need to somehow increase their confidence in participating financial institutions. Looking at a difficult topic.

Here, too, we think that the key importance is an institutional structure that gives this trust to society. There is a study in that direction, which is essential. On the other hand, we attach great importance to participating financial institutions coming together and forming their own associations.

We believe crowdfunding can grow with a structure where everyone comes together.”

‘OUR OBJECTIVE IS CLEAR’

Sharing his views on the comments that “all banking will be participation banking next year”, Aşan continued as follows:

“Our objective is clear, to increase our participation in the sector to 15 percent. I hope to achieve this by 2025.

Let’s say that our banking system, financial system and savers preferred it and our share was 51 percent… What’s wrong with that? Where is the evil? What a beautiful area to expand if we can… We should be criticized for not having a 15 percent stake so far.” (AA)