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Investor Compensation Center Regulation Amended: Return Applications Move to e-Government, Special Fund Claims at Risk

  • Jul 28
  • 4 min read


The Capital Markets Board (the “CMB”) has amended the Investor Compensation Center (“YTM”) Regulation (the “Regulation”). The amendments were published in Official Gazette No. 33311 of 16 July 2026 and have entered into force on the same date. The amendments matter as much to entitled holders seeking the return of time-barred assets as they do to investment firms subject to reporting and transfer obligations.

Key Points

  • Special Fund Claims: Claims and holdings belonging to investors at intermediary institutions within the scope of the Special Fund that were neither supported by a certificate of insolvency nor filed with the bankruptcy estate before 31/12/2014 will no longer be held for return to their entitled holders; they are recorded as income of YTM.

  • Return applications: Physical filings to YTM’s head office by registered mail or courier are replaced by electronic filings through the e-Government portal (e-Devlet), and the list of mandatory supporting documents has been removed from the Regulation.

  • Reporting Timetable: The monthly lists filed by investment firms become annual: a single list for the preceding year, due by the end of February. The transfer of assets to YTM remains monthly.

  • Attachments and Injunctions: Requests previously routed through YTM to İstanbul Takas ve Saklama Bankası A.Ş. (“Takasbank”) are now given effect directly by Takasbank.

Attachments and Injunctions Are Now Handled Directly by Takasbank

Previously, attachments, interim injunctions and similar judicial and administrative measures over claims and holdings held by YTM in safekeeping were addressed to YTM, which in turn notified Takasbank so that they could be actioned. Under the new Article 19/3, all such requests are given effect directly by Takasbank, whether or not the underlying assets have been dematerialized. Takasbank must report the steps it takes to YTM on a monthly basis, in a form and with a content determined by YTM, and include them in the report required under Article 27/4.

The amendment also settles a distinction that matters in practice: the protection in Article 19/2, under which YTM’s own patrimony may not be attached or pledged, remains in place, but assets held do not benefit from it.

Reporting Becomes Annual: The Deadline Is the End of February

Previously, investment firms had to file the list of time-barred claims and holdings by the end of the month following the month in which the item became time-barred, on a cumulative basis covering the earlier months of the same calendar year. Under the amended Article 26/2, a single list identifying the entitled holders and their entitlements is instead filed with YTM and Takasbank by the end of February, covering assets that became time-barred in the preceding year.

The transfer obligation is unchanged: under Article 26/1, time-barred assets must still reach YTM’s accounts with Takasbank and the Central Registry Agency (“CRA”) by the end of the month in which they become time-barred. Only the reporting cycle has changed. No transitional provision was adopted for Article 26/2, so the timetable for assets that became time-barred during 2026 remains to be clarified in practice.

Return Applications Move to e-Government and the Document List Is Repealed

The return of time-barred assets previously required a physical application to YTM’s head office, sent by registered mail or delivered by courier against signature. Applications are now to be filed electronically through the e-Government portal (e-Devlet) as a matter of principle. YTM will publish an implementation guide for electronic filings on its website, and the CMB will determine the principles for applications that cannot be made electronically, to be published in the CMB Bulletin and on YTM’s website. Neither had been published as at the date of this note.

Former Article 28/3, which listed the documents required from natural and legal persons, and former Article 28/4, which allowed YTM to request further information and documents, have both been repealed. The supporting documents will now be governed by YTM’s implementation guide and the principles to be set by the CMB rather than by the Regulation itself.

The transition is governed by the new Provisional Article 10: the former version of Article 28/2 continues to apply to applications made before the CMB’s procedures take effect, to those pending on that date and to those posted but not yet received by YTM. The provision preserves only the manner of filing and does not revive the repealed document list, so physical applications will continue during the transition while the documents required will be determined by YTM in practice.

Prescription Starts Earlier for Firms Whose Operations Have Been Suspended

Where an investment firm’s operations have been permanently suspended and its accounts have not been transferred to another firm, and no last transaction date can be found in Takasbank or CRA records for the client’s safekept claims and holdings, the prescription period previously ran from the date on which operations were suspended. Under the amended Provisional Article 6/2, it now runs from the earliest of the decisions on suspension of operations, gradual liquidation, liquidation or bankruptcy. In many files this brings the starting point forward and directly affects when the assets must be transferred to YTM.

Pre-2014 Special Fund Claims at Risk

A new paragraph seven has been added to Provisional Article 6 for claims and holdings of investors at intermediary institutions within the scope of the Special Fund which, before 31/12/2014, were neither supported by a certificate of insolvency nor filed with the bankruptcy estate. The prescription period for these assets is deemed to have expired before 22/04/2021, with the result that they are not held for return to their entitled holders but recorded as income of YTM under the Capital Markets Law No. 6362 as it stood before its amendment. No late payment surcharge will apply. Because the rule is capable of extinguishing claims, investors with unpursued pre-2014 claims against Special Fund intermediary institutions should review their position without delay.

What to Do Now?

Investors with unpursued pre-2014 claims against intermediary institutions within the scope of the Special Fund should review their files without delay, given the risk that those claims are extinguished.

For applications that are pending or in preparation, it is worth confirming which procedure applies under Provisional Article 10 before filing.

Investment firms should revisit their reporting and transfer processes against the new timetable and follow YTM and Takasbank announcements closely for the 2026 reporting cycle.

The implementation guide for e-Government applications and the CMB principles has not yet been published. We will continue to monitor developments and secondary announcements closely.

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