Turkish private sector external debt falls

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkish private sector’s outstanding loans received from abroad decreased this April from the end of December 2018, the country's central bank announced Wednesday.

Long-term debts of the sector reached $206.9 billion as of April, down $3.3 billion from the end of last year, the Central Bank of Turkey said in a statement.

"As for the sectoral breakdown by the end of April, of the total long-term loans, 48.4% consist of liabilities of the financial institutions; whereas 51.6% consists of the liabilities of the non-financial institutions," the statement said.

Nearly 61% of Turkey's private sector long-term debt was in U.S. dollars, with 33.9% in euros, 3.9% in Turkish liras, and 1.4% in other currencies.

The sector's short-term loans -- debt that must be paid in the next 12 months -- decreased by $3.6 billion to $11.8 billion during the same period.

Financial institutions constituted 70.3% of the short-term loans, while 29.7% consists of liabilities of the non-financial institutions.

"Of the total short-term loans in the amount of $11.8 billion, 46.1% consists of USD, 34.5% consists of Euro, 19.1% consists of Turkish lira and 0.3% consist of other currencies," it said.