ISTANBUL

The CEO and board member of the Central Securities Depository of Türkiye (MKK), Ekrem Arikan, has been elected as the new chairman of the Board of the World Forum of Central Securities Depositories (WFC).

He assumed the chairmanship from Yedil Medeu, the CEO of the Central Securities Depository of Kazakhstan, at the 25th meeting of the WFC, held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the MKK stated on Wednesday.

Arikan, who has been chairman of the Association of Eurasian Central Securities Depositories (AECSD) since September 2023, will lead the WFC for the next two years.

The WFC, which was founded in Cape Town in 2011 with the merger of five regional central securities depository associations, now brings central securities depositories from all over the world under one roof, the MKK said.

Its mission is to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experience, find solutions to common issues, and contribute to global market stability.

Arikan said: "I would like to thank the member associations, country representatives, and all our stakeholders who deemed me worthy of this position.

"I will carry out all the necessary work to fulfill this responsibility in the best way possible."

Türkiye and the MKK will use their strong infrastructure and expertise under the WFC to build bridges between markets and continents, he noted.

He said: "During my WFC chairmanship, we will work in close cooperation with each of the five regional associations to evaluate common opportunities.

"We also aim to take the necessary steps to make the WFC an official legal entity."

He said that with the EurAsiaPacific Central Securities Depositories Summit, which is planned to be at the İstanbul Finance Center in April 2026, Türkiye will once again bring together peer institutions and leading financial experts from around the world, just as it did in 2024.

"We expect participation from more than 40 countries at this event, which will also host the general assembly meetings of AECSD and ACG," he added.