Turkey: Private sector external debt down in September

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey's outstanding short-term foreign private sector debt dropped in September, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) said on Friday.

The private sector's short-term external loans -- excluding trade credits -- totaled $11.9 billion, decreasing $3.5 billion since the end of last year.

Some 73.8% of all short-term loans consisted of liabilities of financial institutions, the bank's data showed.

Some 52% of short-term credits were in U.S. dollars, while the rest were in euros (28.9%), Turkish liras (18.5%), and other currencies (0.6%).

On the long-term side, the private sector's overseas loans amounted to $195.3 billion as of September, down $14.2 billion compared to the end of 2018.

Non-financial institution liabilities constituted 53.5% of long-term external loans, the bank said.

The U.S. dollar dominated long-term loans with 60.9%, while the euro and Turkish lira followed with 33.5% and 4%, respectively.

The bank noted that on a basis of remaining maturity at September-end, the private sector’s total outstanding loans received from abroad amounted to $54.2 billion in principal repayments over the next 12 months.