Turkey's Capital Markets Board (SPK) has extended a temporary margin-trading measure through the close of the 30 October 2026 trading session. The measure allows an intermediary, when consistent with its own risk policy and while considering customer requests, to apply a minimum maintenance-equity ratio of 20% to ongoing margin transactions instead of the ordinary 35% floor. The extension matters to investors with financed securities positions, but it does not guarantee that every brokerage will use the lower threshold and it does not change ordinary cash trades.
The expiry moved from October 2 to October 30
SPK first announced the temporary option in Bulletin 2026/60 on 17 September. That decision allowed the lower maintenance threshold until the end of the 2 October session unless a second notice changed it. Bulletin 2026/68, dated 3 October, keeps the same measure in place through the end of the 30 October session. The new bulletin extends the duration; it does not announce a further reduction below 20% or create a permanent rule.
The temporary option is 20% rather than the standard 35%
The underlying communiqué normally requires at least a 35% maintenance-equity ratio while a financed securities transaction remains open. Under the temporary SPK decision, an intermediary may use 20% for the duration of the measure. In practical terms, the regulatory minimum cushion can be smaller than under the ordinary rule. That can reduce immediate pressure on some accounts, but it also leaves a financed position more exposed to adverse price moves before the temporary minimum is breached.
Brokerages keep their own risk discretion
The wording is permissive, not compulsory. SPK says the flexibility may be applied to the extent that it fits the intermediary's own risk policies and while customer requests are considered as far as possible. A brokerage can therefore maintain a stricter threshold, impose account-specific limits, restrict eligible securities or ask for additional collateral. Investors should rely on the written terms and current notice from their licensed intermediary, not assume that the 20% regulatory option automatically governs every account.
It concerns maintenance during margin positions
The decision refers specifically to the equity-maintenance ratio during ongoing financed purchases of capital-market instruments. It is not a general reduction in the price of shares, a change to cash-market settlement, a public guarantee against losses or a promise of additional credit. The 3 October bulletin also does not introduce a new short-selling rule. Other trading, suitability, collateral, concentration and risk-control requirements continue to apply through the relevant regulation and the intermediary's procedures.
A lower minimum does not make leverage safer
Margin amplifies both gains and losses. With a smaller maintenance cushion, a sudden fall can consume the client's equity more quickly, and the intermediary may demand additional collateral or close positions under the account agreement and applicable rules. Exchange volatility, liquidity gaps and security-specific restrictions can matter more than the headline percentage. The extension should therefore be read as temporary regulatory flexibility for market functioning, not as an SPK recommendation to increase leverage.
What investors should confirm before the deadline
A client with a margin account should ask the licensed intermediary which maintenance ratio currently applies, whether it varies by security or customer, how collateral is valued and what notice process precedes a margin call or forced sale. Keep the reply and the latest account statement. Unless SPK issues another decision, the temporary permission ends at the close of 30 October and the ordinary framework becomes relevant again. Investors should not wait until the final session to clarify how their brokerage plans to handle the transition.
SPK Bulletin 2026/60 — original temporary measure, 17 September 2026 →