US Supreme Court dismisses Owens case against Türkiye's Halkbank
People walk past by a branch of Halkbank in central Istanbul, Türkiye, Jan. 22, 2020.


Türkiye's state lender Halkbank on Tuesday announced that a 2020 U.S. lawsuit against it by a group of plaintiffs had been conclusively dismissed, sending its shares higher.

The case was dismissed first by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and then the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit "on grounds of forum non conveniens," the bank said.

It noted that the U.S. Supreme Court considered the appeal on Friday and decided not to grant the plaintiff's appeal in the case on Monday.

The lawsuit, known as the Owens case, is the first civil case brought against Halkbank in the U.S. on March 27, 2020.

"Consequently, the Owens case brought against our Bank... has been conclusively dismissed," the bank said. "We would like to congratulate our Bank, investors, customers and employees on the decision."

Shares of the lender jumped about 10% on Tuesday after the announcement.

Fund manager Doruk Ozaner said the dismissal of the case is driving the positive reaction of the stock.

The Halkbank stock is the best performer in Türkiye's BIST 100 index, which was broadly flat on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the bank said on Tuesday that the legal proceedings for the second civil case brought on July 26, 2023, for the satisfaction of judgments, known as the Hughes case, as well as the criminal case dated Oct. 15, 2019, are currently ongoing.