Turkey's SPK halts trading in 223 funds totaling 1.1 trillion lira

September 17, 2026 at 03:03 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Turkey's Capital Markets Board (SPK) suspended trading in 223 funds with total assets of 1.1 trillion lira on TEFAS, affecting 932,000 investors. The move came on the second day of a crisis triggered by unusual price movements in certain stocks. Liquidation will begin for 130 of the funds, covering 826 billion lira.

Key Facts

SPK suspended TEFAS trading in 223 funds totaling 1.1 trillion lira, affecting 932,000 investors.
Liquidation will begin for 130 funds with a combined portfolio of 826 billion lira.
Tera Portföy holds the largest share with 538 billion lira across five funds: TLY, TP2, DOH, T3B, and TLV.
Six Tera funds, including the 142 billion lira THF, will remain closed to trading but are not slated for liquidation.
SPK lowered the minimum equity ratio for margin transactions from 35% to 20% until October 2, 2026.

Trading Suspension

SPK halted all buy and sell orders for funds managed by Tera, Pusula, Hedef, Atlas, A1 Capital, Pardus, and Bulls Portföy on the TEFAS platform. The suspension covers 223 funds with total assets of 1.1 trillion lira and affects 932,000 fund-based investors. The decision came on the second day of a market crisis triggered by unusual price movements in certain stocks.

Liquidation Process

SPK will initiate liquidation for 130 of the suspended funds, with a combined portfolio of 826 billion lira. Tera Portföy accounts for the largest share with 538 billion lira across five funds: TLY, TP2, DOH, T3B, and TLV. Six Tera funds, including the 142 billion lira THF, are excluded from liquidation but will remain closed to trading on TEFAS. SPK has not yet announced a liquidation method or timeline, and the illiquid nature of the underlying stocks may delay investor payouts.

Margin Relief

To ease cash shortages, SPK allowed brokerage firms to reduce the minimum equity ratio for margin transactions from 35% to 20%. The relief is valid until the end of the trading session on October 2, 2026, subject to each firm's own risk assessment.