The Capital Markets Board ("CMB") has recently effected changes to its rules on forex and public disclosures.

Forex rules

The CMB has historically had a reserved stance towards low-value forex trading, in most part, with a view to safeguarding investors from the risks associated with speculation and the use of leverage.

The amendments to Communiqué No III-37.1 on the Principles Regarding Investment and Ancillary Services (the "Investment Services Communiqué") were published in the Official Gazette numbered 29975 dated 10 February 2017 and introduced increased collateral requirements and reduced margins for all leveraged transactions.

Table – changes to margin and collateral requirements

Applicable requirements

Previously

Amended

Initial margin

100:1 for pairs of TL, EUR and USD

50:1 for other assets

(in both cases, margins to be reduced by half for collateral below TRY20,000)

10:1

Minimum collateral

N/A

TL50,000

Investment firms are required to ensure compliance with the new requirements by 27 March 2017. Investors who have open positions with higher margins should be prepared to respond to margin calls or close out their open positions by this date.

Disclosure requirements

The CMB also effected amendments to Communiqué No II-15.1 on Material Events Disclosure (II-15.1) (the "Material Events Communiqué") which were published in the Official Gazette numbered 29975 dated 10 February 2017.

One of the key changes increases disclosure thresholds for capital markets transactions by persons who have an "administrative responsibility". According to article 11 of the Material Events Communiqué, disclosures will have to be made if "... the total sum of transactions executed by persons having administrative responsibility, persons closely connected to them and the issuer's parent company within a calendar year exceeds TL 250,000..." – the threshold was previously TL100,000 and did not expressly include trades by the parent.

Another key change provides CMB with authority to request issuers to make public disclosures in multiple languages. According to article 8 of the Material Events Communiqué, the CMB can request certain issuers, by reference to the markets on which their securities are traded or their classification under corporate governance rules, to accompany their Turkish language disclosures with translations into other languages.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.