Turkish Treasury to take over 58.45 percent stake in Vakifbank

The Turkish Treasury will take over a 58.45 percent stake in Vakifbank currently held by the General Directorate of Foundations, under the Prime Minister's office, an emergency decree published in the Official Gazette said on Sunday. The cabinet will decide on the per-share price of the transaction, the decree said. The amount will be paid via the issuance of five sukuks.
Vakifbank, the seventh-largest lender in Turkey by asset value, posted a net profit of 700.7 million lira ($184 million) in the third quarter, down 14 percent from a year earlier, according to its latest financial statements. The stake would be worth around $2.4 billion, given Vakifbank's current trading price, according to Thomson Reuters data.
In May, unlisted Islamic lender Vakif Katilim's chairman, Ozturk Oran, told Reuters the government was considering transfering a 58.5 percent stake in Vakifbank to the Treasury and using the proceeds to strengthen his bank's capital as part of Ankara's push to promote Islamic finance.