Financial Services

The financial sector is evolving into a multi-layered ecosystem in which traditional banking activities increasingly intersect with payment institutions, electronic money companies, fintech ventures, technology providers and digital platforms. Access to payment infrastructure, data, distribution channels and technology services can, in certain circumstances, become as important to competition as the underlying financial service itself.

Shared infrastructure projects between banks or other financial institutions, payment systems, outsourcing arrangements, data sharing, exclusive collaborations and fintech investments may raise different competition law considerations. At the same time, the sector's significant dependence on highly qualified employees has made competition in labour markets increasingly important. In 2026, the Turkish Competition Authority initiated investigations in the banking, insurance and information technology sectors concerning allegations relating to no-poach practices and exchanges of sensitive labour-market information; the Authority also expressly notes that the opening of an investigation does not in itself constitute a finding of infringement.

KFD Consulting assesses commercial collaborations, new product development processes, fintech investments and information-sharing models of financial institutions from a competition law perspective. In joint projects involving competitors, particular attention is given from the outset to determining what information may be shared, who may access that information and the extent to which operational cooperation may affect the parties' competitive independence. This allows competitively sensitive areas to be appropriately ring-fenced without unnecessarily restricting innovation or legitimate cooperation.