European bank loans some $19M to Turkish firm

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided a 100 million Turkish lira loan ($18.85 million) to Turkish non-performing loan (NPL) management firm Hayat Varlik.

"In a move to help Turkey tackle the increase in NPLs in its banking sector, the EBRD is supporting the country’s leading NPL management firm," the bank said in a statement on Monday.

Hayat Varlik will use the loan to buy new distressed portfolios from local lenders and financial institutions.

Saying that the banking sector is a key anchor for Turkey's economy, the EBRD noted: "[The sector] is under stress following the lira’s depreciation and a sharp slowdown of the economy."

"An increase in NPLs can affect banks’ cost of funding, profitability, and may impair their capacity to lend to the real economy," it added.

With the loan by the EBRD, which has an existing 12 percent stake in Hayat Varlik, the firm's NPL management will rise.

"The Bank has also provided the company with 120 million Turkish lira ($22.6 million) in loans and has mobilised 60 million Turkish lira ($11.3 million) parallel in financing from ICBC Turkey," it said.

Since 2009, the EBRD has invested nearly €11 billion (approximately $13 billion) in Turkey -- a top destination for the bank’s finance -- through more than 280 projects.

In 2018 alone, the EBRD invested €1 billion (some $1.13 billion) in several projects in the country -- nearly a third of this financing provided in Turkish lira.