"CUMHURİYET DÖNEMİNİN İLK MALİ SKANDALI": İSTANBUL ESNAF BANKASI T.A.Ş.

The National Economic policy, which was adopted by the Union and Progress governments during the First World War, continued in the Republican period. New banks have opened, and the number of bank branches has grown. As a result, national banks' overall deposit and loan volume increased significantly. In the last years of the Ottoman Empire, the influence of foreign banks' control over the country's economy decreased in the first years of the Republic. Between 1923 and 1929, 34 new local banks were established. İstanbul Esnaf Bank was one of the three newly established banks with an administrative center in Istanbul and was founded on the initiative of the Istanbul Municipality on 14 June 1925. İstanbul Esnaf Bank was established to solve the credit problems of tradesmen. In addition to banking transactions, it has turned to commercial activities in which they hope to earn more money in a short period, far exceeding their initial investment. It halted operations in March 1935 after being the target of rent within the context of a specific group's economic goals. On February 28, 1938, it was decided to terminate and liquidate because its capital had been lost. The study aims to evaluate the liquidation process of İstanbul Esnaf Bank, which was established to provide loans to tradesmen, moving away from its founding purpose. The period analyzed covers the years between 1925, when the bank was founded, and 1935 when it ceased operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]