Turkish state banks cite secrecy laws to withhold advertising data

Turkish Parliament has seen a debate regarding the transparency of advertising expenditures by state-owned enterprises. Mahmut Tanal, a Yeni Party deputy, submitted a parliamentary inquiry to Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek requesting a breakdown of advertising and promotion budgets allocated to television channels by major entities including Turkish Airlines (THY), Ziraat Bankası, Halkbank, VakıfBank, and BOTAŞ over the last five years.

Tanal questioned whether objective criteria such as ratings, reach, target audience, and cost-effectiveness are used to distribute these public funds. In response, Minister Şimşek shared a joint statement from the three major state banks. The banks stated that while financial data is published periodically on official platforms, specific details regarding advertising expenditures per channel cannot be disclosed. They cited Articles 73 and 159 of the Banking Law, classifying such detailed information as bank and customer secrets.