Participatory banks take measure against Covid-19 in Turkey: issues and proposes strategies

Not much research has been carried out to examine participatory banks in Turkey. This is despite the fact that Turkey has a long history in Islamic civilisation. The legacy of strong Islamic law, the majority Muslim population, and the strategic location of the country have failed to serve as catalyst to boost market share of participation banks in the country. The present study aims to explore problems, solutions, and strategies for developing participation banks in Turkey. This research also captures the condition of Participation Banks in facing the Covid-19 pandemic. The study is a qualitative methods that uses library research benefitting from various sources of literature, namely books, journals, and other sources. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts who have good understanding and experiences on Participation Banks issues in Turkey. The respondents of interview were encompassed practitioners, regulators, and academicians. The preliminary finding shows that the problems of participatory banks in Turkey are derived from both internal and external factors. Lack of understanding, lack of skills, and lack of sharia governance are the main problems from the internal factors. Lack of regulatory support, lack of public literacy, lack of academic research and educational institutions, a regulatory state system and covid-19 pandemic are the primary problems from external factors. Concomitantly, the study suggests two main solutions, namely internal solution and external solution, as well as strategies to address the problems. This study could serve as reference point for the regulator in formulating appropriate policy strategies to increase market share of participatory banks in Turkey