TLDR:
The Capital Markets Board of Türkiye (Sermaye Piyasası Kurulu, SPK) is Türkiye’s primary capital markets regulator, supervising public offerings, investment funds, exchanges (BIST), brokerage and asset management firms, and—since 2025—crypto-asset service providers. SPK was established in 1981 and operates under the Capital Markets Law (Sermaye Piyasası Kanunu, Law No. 6362) of 2012.
SPK’s Mandate
SPK’s core responsibilities include: regulating public securities offerings (IPOs, follow-on offerings, debt issuances), supervising secondary market operations (Borsa Istanbul listings, trading rules, surveillance), authorizing and supervising investment institutions (brokerage firms, portfolio management firms, investment funds, real estate investment trusts), enforcing disclosure obligations of publicly-traded companies, investigating market abuse (insider trading, market manipulation), protecting investor rights, and—newly under 2025 regulation—licensing and supervising crypto-asset service providers (CASPs).
Key SPK Regulations
The Capital Markets Law (CML/Sermaye Piyasası Kanunu, 6362) provides the framework. SPK has issued extensive secondary regulation (tebliğler) covering: prospectus requirements for public offerings (II-5.1), corporate governance principles for listed companies (II-17.1 series), takeover bids and mandatory tender offers (II-26.1), investment funds (III-52.1), crypto-asset service providers (2025—major recent regulation), market manipulation, and dozens of other topics. SPK regulations are highly technical and frequently updated.
SPK and Investment Law Practice
For investment lawyers and M&A practitioners, SPK considerations arise frequently: public company M&A transactions trigger SPK disclosure and mandatory tender offer requirements at specified ownership thresholds (25%, 50%); private company financings using SPK-regulated investment vehicles (Girişim Sermayesi Yatırım Fonu, Bireysel Katılım Yatırımcısı tax incentives); cross-border deals affecting Turkish publicly-traded entities; structured products and securitization; and increasingly crypto-asset offerings and exchange operations. SPK has shown willingness to engage with novel financial structures while maintaining investor protection focus. Recent appointments have brought more market-oriented leadership emphasizing efficient regulation.