Turkey revokes license of Bank Mellat’s Istanbul branch — Jerusalem Post
Turkey’s banking supervisory authority, BDDK, has revoked the operating license of the Istanbul branch of Iran’s Bank Mellat. The decision was published in Turkey’s Official Gazette on Saturday, the Jerusalem Post reports.
Banking regulator’s decision
The notice states that the license was revoked from Bank Mellat, whose headquarters are located in Tehran, for its central branch in Istanbul. The Turkish regulator did not directly link the decision to U.S. restrictive measures and did not report any operational problems at the bank.
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The decision was made under a provision of Turkey’s banking legislation. It allows a bank’s license to be revoked or cancelled if the continuation of its operations is considered a risk to depositors’ rights or to the security and stability of the financial system.
Context of U.S. sanctions
Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on a small Turkish investment bank and two of its subsidiaries. The department also said that Turkey and Oman had decided to halt flights by the Iranian airline Mahan Air to their countries following discussions on compliance with U.S. measures against Iran.
