Halkbank

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has questioned why all general board meetings of Turkey's state-run lenders have been postponed until after the referendum, speculating that the government may be "afraid of something in their balance sheets." 

Turkey's benchmark index was up 1,322.94 points to close at 91,044.99 on March 6, marking its highest level in just over two years.      

The BIST 100 index rose 1.47 percent with a total trading volume of 4 billion Turkish Liras (approximately $1.08 billion).      

A new sovereign wealth fund formed by Turkish authorities will be audited and adhere to international standards, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal has said in response to criticisms that the new fund will be devoid of any oversight.

The fund will be audited in three stages, Ağbal said. 

Turkey's government is set to establish a new credit guarantee fund for tradespeople and craftspeople to gain easier access to financing, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said. 

Turkey has transferred stakes worth billions of dollars in Ziraat Bank, the Borsa Istanbul stock exchange, Turkish Airlines and state-owned pipeline operator BOTAŞ, among others, to a new sovereign wealth fund, in a bid to help finance giant infrastructure projects. 

Halkbank will delay the repayment of low-rated loan debts for businesses in terror-hit southeastern provinces for one year, according to a cabinet decision that was released in the Official Gazette on May 5. 

Turkey's Halkbank has said it found several reports and comments which linked the lender with an ongoing investigation conducted in the U.S. against an Iranian-born Turkish businessman unfair, inappropriate and law-breaking in a written statement. 

It was breaking news after Reza Zarrab was arrested in the United States and the indictment about him was immediately unsealed. 

Let's look at what happened piece by piece: 

The fifth penal chamber of Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeals ruled on March 23 for an arrest warrant for a public prosecutor who conducted the major Dec. 17, 2013, graft probe and was later dismissed from the profession.

The arrest of Reza Zarrab cannot be linked to the Turkish state's Halkbank, Trade Minister Bülent Tüfenkçi said on March 22, adding that U.S. investigators had not demanded any information or documents regarding the issue.