WASHINGTON
The Turkish banking regulator's decision to take over the management of Bank Asya did not affect the country’s credit ratings, Standard & Poor's announced Friday.
"The decision to transfer management of Bank Asya to the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund does not affect the unsolicited sovereign credit ratings on Turkey," the U.S.-based credit ratings agency said in a press release.
Turkey's current credit rating stands at BB+ with a “negative” outlook.
"We view this decision as an isolated incident and not a harbinger of systemic distress in the banking sector or a determined politicization of Turkey's regulatory institutions," the statement said. "At present, we do not see the potential for systemic distress. Bank Asya's relatively small size (roughly 0.1% of banking sector assets) makes it rather unlikely that there could be any contagion effects."
Turkey's Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency ruled late Tuesday for a takeover of Bank Asya, citing lack of transparency.
The bank is allegedly affiliated with U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gulen and his movement.
Gulen and his so-called Hizmet movement are accused of forming an illegal "parallel state," comprised of a suspected group of Turkish bureaucrats and senior officials nestled within key institutions of the state, such as the police and the judiciary.
