Transparency as a Corporate Governance Principle and Transparency Levels of Financial Institutions Traded in BIST

The aim of this study is to determine of the transparency levels of financial institutions registered in Borsa Istanbul as of 2018. In accordance with the purpose of the study, the frequency distribution of the data obtained by surveying financial institutions was revealed. The "Transparency and Disclosure Index" methodology developed by Standard & Poor's (S&P) was used in this survey. As a result, the average transparency level of financial institutions within the scope of the research was determined as 81%. When all the results are analyzed, the company group with the highest transparency rate is Banks and Private Finance Institutions, with a transparency rate of 85%. Intermediary Institutions are in second place with a transparency rate of 80%, Financial Leasing and Factoring Companies are in third place with 79%, and Insurance Companies are in fourth place with a transparency rate of 78%. In addition, the number of employees, year of operation, free float ratio, and balance sheet sizes have been examined by regression analysis. According to the results obtained, it was seen that none of the variables affected the level of transparency. In the study, the analyzes were made using the SPSS package program.