Banking and Finance Turkey central bank halts easing cycle after rate cut to 9% Turkey’s central bank cut its policy rate by 150 basis points to nine percent as expected on Thursday and said it decided to halt its easing cycle, in line with President Tayyip Erdogan’s call for a single-digit rate by year-end despite inflation above 85 percent. The lira weakened to a record low of 18.66 to […] November 25, 2022
Banking and Finance Saudi Arabia close to making $5bn deposit with Turkey Saudi Arabia and Turkey are discussing Riyadh placing a $5 billion deposit at Turkey’s central bank, a Saudi ministry of finance spokesperson said on Tuesday. “We are in final discussion to make a $5 billion deposit with the central bank of (Turkey),” the spokesperson said in an emailed response to a Reuters query. The Turkish […] November 23, 2022
Economy Turkish consumer confidence rises for fifth month in November 2022 Turkey’s consumer confidence index rose by 0.6 percent to 76.6 points in November, official data showed on Tuesday, continuing a rebound from a record low of 63.4 in June despite a continuing surge in inflation. The biggest improvement in confidence was seen in the general economic situation expectation over the next 12 months, which rose […] November 23, 2022
Retail Turkey to clamp down harder on shops charging excessive prices Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he will hold discussions at the next cabinet meeting on adopting heavier measures for supermarkets and stores that charge excessive prices for goods, broadcaster Haberturk reported on Monday. Annual inflation in Turkey is more than 85 percent. Speaking to reporters on his flight back from Qatar, Erdogan said previous fines […] November 21, 2022
Energy Turkey’s Black Sea gas field to go online next year Turkey’s Black Sea gas field is on track to go online next year as promised and work has sped up to connect it to the national infrastructure, president Tayyip Erdogan said. Addressing a natural gas pipeline opening in the northern Kastamonu province, Erdogan said drilling at nine of the 10 wells in the first phase […] November 14, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey central bank firms grip on lira as election approaches Turkey’s central bank has put the finishing touches to a reserve-management system that has stabilised the lira currency ahead of elections in 2023, thanks to nearly 100 new regulations this year, industry sources and officials said. The policy, adopted in the wake of a historic currency crash a year ago, relies largely on foreign funds […] November 13, 2022
Energy Russia to pursue gas deal with Turkey and grain exports at G20 Russia will announce a number of initiatives related to gas cooperation with Turkey and grain exports at a gathering of leaders from the Group of 20 (G20) nations in Indonesia next week, the foreign ministry said on Thursday. “A number of specific initiatives are planned, including increasing gas cooperation with Turkey, (and) organising large shipments […] November 11, 2022
Banking and Finance Calculating hyperinflation is ‘top priority’ for Islamic banks Islamic banking’s top rule maker is racing to create a new accounting standard to calculate the impact of hyperinflation. Changes to sharia-compliant accounting practices could make some account holders liable for banks’ losses related to soaring prices. Under IFRS accounting standards, which are commonly used worldwide, there is a clause, IAS 29, that covers hyperinflation. […] November 9, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey raises $1.5bn with five-year dollar bond Turkey raised $1.5 billion in its latest dollar-denominated international bond sale that offers investors a 10 percent yield for a five-year bond, defying a difficult backdrop for lower-rated issuers. The latest bond issue which is set to mature in 2028 attracted some $5 billion of bids and brings Ankara’s fund raising on international capital markets […] November 9, 2022
Banking and Finance IMF recommends Turkey to implement early policy rate hikes Turkey should tighten monetary policy and give its central bank more independence, a mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Friday. “To address (Turkey’s) challenges, the mission recommended early policy rate hikes accompanied by moves to strengthen the central bank’s independence,” said the IMF in a press release. “Such moves would help reduce […] November 6, 2022
Media & Advertising Erdogan may discuss charge for Twitter blue check with Elon Musk Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he may negotiate with Twitter’s new boss Elon Musk to avoid paying the monthly $8 charge for the “verified” badge. After buying Twitter for $44 billion last week, Musk said the company will charge $8 a month for its Blue service, which includes the sought-after blue check mark. In an […] November 4, 2022
Turkey’s inflation hits 24-year high of 85.5% after rate cuts Turkish annual inflation climbed to a new 24-year high of 85.51 percent in October, official data showed on Thursday, slightly below forecast, after the central bank cut its policy rate despite surging prices. Inflation has surged since last year, when the lira slumped after the central bank began cutting its policy rate in an easing […] November 4, 2022
Economy Turkish manufacturing in worst slowdown since May 2020 Turkey’s manufacturing sector slowed for the eighth consecutive month in October, experiencing its most precipitous drop since May 2020. Analysts see no end in sight for the country’s inflation problem, which is weighing down manufacturing and the wider economy. The Istanbul Chamber of Industry Türkiye Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), compiled by ratings agency S&P […] November 1, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey warns lenders against FX transactions during ‘off hours’ Turkey’s central bank sent a letter to local lenders on Monday, warning them against conducting forex transactions with foreign banks during ‘off hours’ and offering deposits with very high interest rates to avoid bond holding requirements. The central bank has introduced rules in recent months to reduce the gap between the policy rate and lending […] November 1, 2022
Economy Turkey’s central bank hikes 2022 inflation forecast to 65.2% Turkey’s central bank has lifted its inflation forecast for the end of 2022 to 65.2 percent from 60.4 percent, governor Sahap Kavcioglu said on Thursday, marking the fourth rise this year, as he conceded that the bank had not been “very successful” in curbing price growth. Turkish annual inflation climbed to a 24-year high of […] October 28, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey bankers say ballooning debt poses long-term risks Turkish bank executives raised concerns with authorities this week that a year of new rules forcing them to buy government bonds could ultimately destabilise the sector, even as it sharply reduces costs of a big pre-election spending plan. According to six people who participated in or were briefed on a Monday meeting with finance minister […] October 27, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey halts lending to more FX-rich firms to boost lira Turkey tightened lending rules for many companies with more than $500,000 in foreign currency cash on Friday, sweeping up more borrowers under rules adopted in June in the latest step to reverse a tumbling lira. The BDDK bank regulator said that if companies subject to independent audit had more than 10 million lira ($538,000) of […] October 24, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey slashes rates more than expected, lira hits record low Turkey’s central bank slashed its policy rate by a more-than-expected 150 basis points (bps) to 10.5 percent on Thursday, and promised to halt the easing cycle urged by President Tayyip Erdogan after another similarly-hefty cut next month. The move pushed the lira to a record low near 19 to the dollar and comes after Erdogan […] October 21, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkish central bank takes more steps to boost lira deposits Turkey’s central bank took fresh steps to boost lira deposits on Tuesday, raising the ratio of bonds that banks must hold for foreign exchange deposits and requiring those with less than 50 percent lira deposits to hold even more bonds from next year. The central bank raised the securities maintenance ratio required for forex deposits […] October 18, 2022
Energy Turkey backs Russia’s gas plan as Nord Stream faces long outage Large sections of the damaged Nord Stream pipelines built to supply gas to Europe might need to be replaced, the head of Gazprom said, while Turkey on Friday backed Russian proposals to build a gas hub there as an alternative supply route. Russian President Vladimir Putin this week proposed Turkey as a base for gas […] October 16, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey plans to write off nearly $1.6bn of debt under draft law A Turkish parliamentary commission began discussing on Thursday a draft bill that would write off nearly 30 billion lira ($1.61 billion) of debt, according to an impact report. Under the draft prepared by President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party (AKP), the government will waive nearly 27 billion lira of debt used for student housing, as well […] October 14, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkish SMEs grab their highest ever share of bank loans Targeted credit policies adopted by Turkey’s central bank have this year enabled small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to grab their highest ever share of banking sector loans, its deputy governor said. The SMEs took 558 billion lira ($30 billion) of the 1.2 trillion lira in total corporate loans extended by commercial banks in the nine […] October 13, 2022
