Turkey: Private sector foreign debt up in May

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA - Outstanding short- and long-term debts of Turkey’s private sector totaled $175.6 billion in May, up $2 billion versus the end of 2020, the Turkish Central Bank said on Tuesday.

The private sector's short-term overseas loans – excluding trade credits – totaled $9.6 billion in May, down $135 million compared to the end of last year.

Some 84.2% of short-term loans consisted of the liabilities of financial institutions, the bank said.

Broken down by currency, the majority of Turkey's short-term credit, 37.2%, was in US dollars, while 36.6% was in euros, 22.8% in Turkish liras, and 3.4% in other currencies.

On the other side, the private sector's long-term debt rose $2.2 billion to $166 billion over the same period.

The Central Bank said 41.1% of the total long-term foreign loans were owed by financial institutions and 58.9% by non-financial institutions.

On their currency composition, long-term loans totaled $166 billion, with 60.8% consisting of US dollars, 35.3% in euros, 2.2% in Turkish liras, and 1.7% in other currencies, it added.

Based on a remaining maturity basis, the private sector's total outstanding foreign loans indicate principal repayments of $42.6 billion over the next 12 months by the end of May.​​​​​​​