Turkey: External loan burden on private sector falls

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Outstanding loans of Turkish private sector received from abroad dropped in December, the country’s Central Bank announced Tuesday.

Private sector's short-term loans -- excluding trade credits -- amounted to $15.2 billion, falling a $3.3 billion on a yearly basis.

According to the official figures, nearly 75 percent of the amount consists of liabilities of the financial institutions.

As of end of 2018, long-term loans went down $10.9 billion year-on-year to $210.6 billion.

According to the bank, non-financial institutions' share in long-term loans was 51.1 percent.

"Regarding the currency composition, of the total long-term loans in the amount of $210.6 billion, 59.5 percent consists of U.S. dollar, 34.9 percent consists of euro, 4.2 percent consists of Turkish lira and 1.4 percent consists of other currencies.

"... And of the total short-term loans in the amount of $15.2 billion, 43.9 percent consists of U.S. dollar, 34 percent consists of euro, 21.7 percent consists of Turkish lira and 0.4 percent consists of other currencies.” it said.

For the next 12 months, principal repayments of the private sector’s total outstanding loans received from abroad amounted to $64.8 billion.

Official figures also revealed that the top three multilateral creditors are the European Investment Bank, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, and the International Finance Corporation.