Turkish private sector's external debt down in November 2021

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkish private sector’s outstanding foreign loans in November totaled $167.8 billion, down by $5.2 billion compared to the end of 2020, the country’s central bank announced on Friday.

The sector’s short-term loans -- excluding trade credits -- received from abroad were at $8.2 billion in November, decreasing by $1.5 billion from the end of 2020, according to the Turkish Central Bank.

Liabilities of financial institutions made up 83.6% of all short-term loans, while liabilities of non-financial institutions accounted for 16.4%.

Broken down by currency, 40.3% of Turkiye’s short-term credit was in US dollars, 36.6% in euros, 19.1% in Turkish liras, and 4% in other currencies.

The private sector’s long-term debt narrowed by $3.7 billion to $159.6 billion, 40.3% of which is owed by financial institutions, the bank said.

Most of the long-term loans -- 63.2% -- were in US dollars, followed by 33.4% in euros, 1.5% in Turkish liras, and 1.9% in other currencies.

“The private sector’s total outstanding loans received from abroad, based on a remaining maturity basis, point to principal repayments of $40.4 billion for the next 12 months by the end of November,” the bank said.