Turkiye's external assets total $288.1B at end of February

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkiye’s external assets were worth $288.1 billion in February, down 1.6% from the end of 2021, according to data released by the Turkish Central Bank data on Monday.

Liabilities against non-residents fell 2% to $512.1 billion during the same period.

The net international investment position (NIIP), defined as the difference between external assets and liabilities, was minus $224 billion at the end of February, versus minus $229.7 billion at the end of 2021.

Showing a snapshot in time, the NIIP – which can be either positive or negative – is the value of overseas assets owned by a nation, minus the value of domestic assets owned by foreigners, including overseas assets and liabilities held by a nation’s government, the private sector and citizens.

As for sub-items under assets, reserve assets slipped 0.6% to $110.5 billion, while other investments stood at $118.2 billion, falling 2.3% from the end of 2021.

“Currency and deposits of banks, one of the sub-items of other investment, recorded $52.4 billion indicating an increase of 1.7% compared to the end of 2021,” the bank said.

On the liabilities side, direct investments – equity capital plus other capital – at the end of February amounted to $105.5 billion.

The figure was 13.4% lower than the end of last year, with “changes in the market value and foreign exchange rates” being contributing factors, the bank said.

The US dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was 12.24 at the end of 2021 and had risen to around 14.06 by the end of February.

Non-residents’ foreign exchange deposits were up 0.7% to $35.1 billion, while Turkish lira deposits increased by 26% to $12.2 billion.​​​​​​​

“Other investment indicated an increase of 2.8% to $313.1 billion compared to the end of 2021,” the bank said.

The total external loan stock of banks was at $65.8 billion, down 1.2% from the end of 2021, while total external loan stock of other sectors dropped 0.3% to $96.4 billion.