Why Erdogan Aims to Seize Stake in No. 2 Turkish Bank

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already brought the central bank under his control, ousting the governor and installing a successor to drive interest rates lower and try to turbo-charge economic growth. Now he’s making a play for the country’s biggest private lender, Turkiye Is Bankasi AS, as he pushes to unleash credit in the economy. The problem? Isbank is part-owned by the main opposition party, not that that’s likely to get in the Turkish leader’s way.

It was bequeathed. The Republican People’s Party, or CHP, received its 28% shareholding in the will of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk -- the father of modern Turkey who created the CHP. Ataturk established Isbank in the aftermath of World War I as the country’s first national bank, with the aim of helping the push for infrastructure and financial stability. CHP receives no financial benefit from the shares, since Ataturk’s will stipulated that the dividends go to the Turkish Language Association and Turkish History Association.