Center For Applied
Research in
Finance (CARF)
CARF is Türkiye’s leading interdisciplinary research hub dedicated to advancing innovation and sustainability in finance. Established as an Advanced Research Center under Law No. 6550, CARF integrates academic expertise, technology, and policy to design data-driven, transparent, and resilient financial systems. Its core research domains—Financial Technologies, Sustainability and Socio-Environmental Systems, Finance and Corporate Governance—collectively address the transformation of economies toward more responsible, inclusive, and technology-enabled development. Through pioneering projects on carbon markets, ESG integration, circular economy, and fintech innovation, CARF aims to strengthen Türkiye’s position as a regional leader shaping the future of sustainable and digital finance.
Our Research
Areas
Featured Projects
Design of the Turkish Emissions Trading System (EPİAŞ)
Examining the legal and structural design of the carbon exchange, which will be the main element of the emissions trading system planned to be established in Türkiye, determining the trading rules and similar issues, and presenting a model proposal.
Rapid Advisory Response for SMEs: An Assessment of the SME Sector in Türkiye for EBRD and MoIT / KOSGEB (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization of Türkiye)
A preliminary data-oriented study for a validated algorithm for the classification SMEs of Türkiye according to various criteria, the outlook of their financial vulnerabilities, identification of systemic influence channels and the development of appropriate policies.
Algorithm development for pricing and usage of derivatives for FX and interest rate risk management for Turkcell (largest mobile operator in Türkiye)
Designing various complex financial products (CCS, FRA, etc.), implementing their algorithms and adapting them to the company's financial structure in order to manage the exchange rate and interest risks that the company is exposed to.
Determining modeling, pricing and transaction rules for the transition from LIBOR to TLREF for the Banks Association of Türkiye and Ernst&Young
As is the case globally, the decision has been made to terminate LIBOR and its financial contracts in Turkey. The aim of this project is to model and price the TLREF rate proposed in Turkey to replace LIBOR, describe the transition process, and design future TLREF-based derivative products.
Alternative Models of Retirement Systems for Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Workshops were held in Boston, Paris, and Istanbul with academics from the Sloan School of Management at MIT and experts from the OECD. The topic addressed what needs to be done to improve retirement systems. The project's goal is to design how the aforementioned institutions can collaborate on such an endeavor. The intent and format have been determined.
Collaborations
Carf Insights
The Digital Frontier: How Disruptive Technologies Are Reshaping Financial Infrastructure
Over the last decade, blockchain and digital assets were easy to treat as a side story to traditional finance, interesting to watch, but not essential to how markets function. In practice, they lived in two worlds: speculative trading on one…
Center for Applied Research in Finance (CARF) Advanced Research Center
Structural transformations driven by digitalization, sustainability, and governance are now shaping the functioning of financial systems in a multidimensional manner. In Türkiye, this transformation has made increasingly evident the need for research infrastructures that address finance not solely within a…
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