ANKARA - Turkey's banking watchdog said it has blocked the sale of a 50-percent stake in Alternatifbank to Greece's Alpha Bank on the grounds that the Greek bank did not meet legal requirements.
"Our agency has not authorized the transfer of shares in light of the fact that Alpha Bank does not meet all of the requirements listed in Article 8 of the banking law," the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) said in a statement received Thursday.
The said article lists the qualifications the founders of a bank must have.
The BDDK did not specify which of the conditions Alpha Bank failed to meet.
Last year, Alpha Bank said that it had reached an agreement with Turkish group Anadolu to acquire a 50 percent stake in Alternatifbank, in which the group is the principal shareholder.
The deal envisaged the two parties establishing a holding company that would turn the middle-sized Alternatifbank into a leading lending establihment.
Alpha and Anadolu would have had an equal presence on the company's board of directors.
Had the deal gone ahead, Alpha Bank would have become the third Greek institution to acquire a stake in the Turkish banking sector.
Last year, the National Bank of Greece acquired 46 percent of Finansbank and EFG Eurobank bought a 70 percent stake in Tekfenbank.
08/09/2007 07:52 GMT