Banking & Finance Law

Scope of the Practice

Banking & Finance Law (Bankacılık Hukuku) at Turak Law covers the operations a cross-border client conducts through Turkish banks — from account opening through foreign-exchange compliance, banking relationships, dispute resolution, and the regulatory matters that surface when foreign capital meets a Turkish licensed institution. The pillar operates under Banking Law No. 5411 (Bankacılık Kanunu), the Anti-Money Laundering Law No. 5549 (Suç Gelirlerinin Aklanmasının Önlenmesi Hakkında Kanun), and the Central Bank Law No. 1211. The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) and the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) are the principal regulatory counterparties.

The CBI bank deposit pathway (W01) is the firm's highest-volume application of this pillar — every USD 500,000 deposit, every Taahhütname, every BDDK Uygunluk Belgesi sits within this practice. Beyond CBI, the pillar serves clients on account opening for foreign nationals, foreign-exchange transactions, BDDK regulatory queries, banking disputes with Turkish institutions, escrow structures for transactions, financial-instrument structuring, and compliance counsel for clients facing source-of-funds questions from a Turkish bank or MASAK.

Specific Services

• Turkish bank account opening for foreign nationals. Pairing the client with a bank whose KYC protocol matches the client's logistical preference (remote video onboarding, in-person, or Vekâletname-based).
• Foreign currency declaration and DAB coordination. Foreign Currency Purchase Certificate (Döviz Alım Belgesi — DAB) issuance under TCMB Sermaye Hareketleri Genelgesi.
• MASAK compliance and source-of-funds documentation. Anti-money-laundering review under Law No. 5549; PEP screening; documentation packaging for BDDK and MASAK review.
• BDDK matters. Certificate of Eligibility (Uygunluk Belgesi) coordination for CBI deposits; disputes; regulatory clarifications.
• Banking dispute resolution. Disputes between client and Turkish bank — account freezes, transfer rejections, fee disputes, contractual claims.
• Escrow and structured-payment arrangements. Coordinating attorney-trust or bank escrow for cross-border transactions.
• Financial instrument structuring. Letters of credit, guarantees, structured deposit arrangements, conversion certificates for cross-border movement of funds.

Statutory Authority

Cross-Border Considerations

Foreign nationals face KYC, sanctions, and source-of-funds documentation requirements that vary by nationality profile and originating jurisdiction. The firm conducts a pre-transaction KYC profile review before pairing the client with a specific Turkish bank; certain nationalities trigger enhanced screening under MASAK's PEP and sanctions framework. Foreign-currency wires require correspondent bank coordination — the originating-bank, intermediary, and Turkish-bank chain each touches the transaction, and any link can hold the wire on AML grounds. The 24/7 online banking access that the firm enables on every CBI deposit account is a deliberate transparency feature: the client monitors the deposit independently of the firm or the bank's reporting cycle, which is a structural differentiator from referral-based CBI service models.