What is Sermaye Piyasası Kurulu?
The Sermaye Piyasası Kurulu (SPK): Capital Markets Board of Türkiye: is the principal regulatory authority for capital markets in Türkiye, established in 1981 under Law No. 2499 and now operating under the Capital Markets Law (Sermaye Piyasası Kanunu, Law No. 6362). The SPK’s mandate spans the regulation, supervision, and enforcement of securities markets, capital-markets intermediaries, investment funds, crypto-asset service providers (under 2024 expansion), and the protection of investor interests across the Turkish capital-markets ecosystem.
SPK regulatory jurisdiction encompasses: (i) public offerings and listings on Borsa İstanbul: prospectus approval, ongoing disclosure, listing-rule compliance; (ii) capital-markets intermediaries: investment firms (yatırım kuruluşları), portfolio management companies (PYŞ), and licensed capital-markets professionals; (iii) collective investment schemes: Venture Capital Investment Funds (GSYF), Real Estate Investment Funds (GYF), Private Funds, Exchange-Traded Funds; (iv) credit rating agencies, independent audit firms, and valuation firms; (v) crypto-asset service providers under Law No. 7518 (2024): first comprehensive Turkish framework for crypto exchanges and custodians; and (vi) insider trading and market manipulation enforcement.
The 2024 crypto-asset framework represents the most significant SPK regulatory expansion in recent years. Under Law No. 7518, all crypto-asset service providers serving Turkish residents must obtain SPK licensing, maintain minimum capital and operational standards, implement comprehensive AML/CFT programs (coordinated with MASAK), submit to regular SPK supervision and audit, and comply with detailed disclosure and conduct-of-business requirements. Major Turkish and international exchanges (Paribu, BTCTurk, Binance TR, OKX TR) have undergone or are undergoing the licensing process; non-compliant operators face enforcement actions including blocking and asset freezes.
SPK regulatory tools include: licensing (granting and revocation of capital-markets and crypto licenses); rule-making through Communiques (Tebliğ) and Principles (İlkeler); ongoing supervision via periodic reporting requirements and on-site inspections; enforcement through administrative penalties (administrative fines revalued annually, which can be higher where a benefit was obtained), license suspension/revocation, public censure, and referral to criminal authorities for market-abuse offenses; and investor protection through complaint-handling mechanisms and investor-compensation schemes for certain insolvency scenarios.
For Turkish startups planning capital-markets activity (IPO on Borsa İstanbul, crypto-asset issuance, regulated investment-fund formation, or capital-markets intermediation), SPK engagement is foundational: licensing analysis, regulatory-application preparation, ongoing-compliance program design, periodic-reporting framework implementation, and inspection-response coordination.
Sources. Capital Markets Law No. 6362. Statute links open the official consolidated Turkish texts on mevzuat.gov.tr.