Turkey: Private sector foreign debt up in February

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Outstanding short- and long-term debts of Turkey’s private sector saw increases last February, the Turkish Central Bank said on Thursday.

The private sector's short-term overseas loans -- excluding trade credits -- totaled $9.9 billion in February, up $172 million compared to the end of last year.

Some 84.3% of short-term loans consisted of the liabilities of financial institutions, the bank said.

Broken down by currency, the majority of Turkey's short-term credit, 36.7%, was in US dollars, while 34.7% was in euros, 26.2% in Turkish liras, and 2.4% in other currencies.

On the other side, the private sector's long-term debt rose by $388 million to $164.4 billion over the same period.

The Central Bank said 43.1% of the total long-term foreign loans were owed by financial institutions and 56.9% by non-financial institutions.

On their currency composition, long-term loans totaled $164.4 billion, with 62.1% consisting of US dollars, 33.7% in euros, 2.5% in Turkish liras, and 1.7% in other currencies, it added.

Based on a remaining maturity basis, the private sector's total outstanding foreign loans indicate principal repayments of $44.8 billion over the next 12 months by the end of February.