Türkiye’s Capital Markets Board Clarifies Fund Liquidation Rules

News: Gökhan Turhan

Türkiye’s Capital Markets Board (CMB) issued a statement on October 22, 2026, addressing questions surrounding settlement finality and share-blocking records, known as PBLK, under legislation currently being discussed in the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye.

The regulator emphasized that the proposed rules distinguish between transactions whose settlement has been completed and instructions that remain unsettled. The clarification concerns how these two categories would be treated during the liquidation of investment funds.

Article 79(1) of Türkiye’s Capital Markets Law stipulates that settlement instructions and transactions involving capital market instruments, as well as payment transactions, cannot be reversed or cancelled even if the relevant institutions suspend their operations or enter liquidation. According to the CMB, the provision is intended to protect confidence in capital markets by ensuring that established settlement obligations remain irrevocable.

However, the regulator stressed that this principle does not mean every instruction submitted through TEFAS must be treated as a completed settlement, regardless of the transaction’s stage.

Unlike conventional organized markets, TEFAS enables investors to purchase investment fund units from fund founders and return those units to the founders. Consequently, submitting a sell order through the platform does not automatically mean that the settlement has been completed.

PBLK Records Do Not Automatically Mean Settlement Has Begun

The CMB explained that, particularly for investors whose accounts carry a share-blocking (PBLK) status, the submission of a sell order or the presence of a record in the system is not, by itself, sufficient to establish that settlement has begun.

According to the statement, settlement is completed when the cash is transferred to the investor’s account following the instruction and the record of ownership of the relevant fund units is removed.

The regulator said that including instructions for which settlement has not been completed in the liquidation process would help ensure a fair distribution of fund assets among investors.

The statement also noted that investors with PBLK records are part of the total 455,758 fund investors and do not constitute a separate category of investors.

Completed Transactions Will Not Be Affected

The CMB clarified that the provision in the proposed legislation does not affect transactions that have already been settled. Its scope is limited to instructions for which the settlement process remains incomplete.

Such instructions would be assessed on equal terms with those of other fund unit holders, based on the amounts recovered through the liquidation process.

The regulator said the measure is intended to clarify the legal status of the affected fund investors and establish greater certainty regarding their rights during liquidation. It described the proposed approach as necessary and proportionate to achieving these objectives.

Kaynak: Capital Markets Board of Türkiye (CMB), press statement dated October 22, 2026.