Turkish private sector’s foreign loans rise to $173 billion by July

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Turkish private sector's loans from abroad reached $173 billion as of July, marking a $9.5 billion increase compared to the end of 2023, according to data released by the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) on Tuesday.

Long-term loans accounted for $160.7 billion, an increase of $6.4 billion, while short-term loans rose by $3.1 billion, totaling $12.3 billion from December 2023 to July this year.

A breakdown of the long-term loans reveals that 58.2% are in US dollars, 34.5% in euros, 2.6% in Turkish lira, and 4.7% in other currencies. Short-term loans were composed of 43.8% US dollars, 14.9% euros, 35.8% Turkish lira, and 5.5% in other currencies.

By the end of July, 38.1% of the $160.7 billion in long-term loans consisted of liabilities from financial institutions, while non-financial institutions held 61.9%, the bank said. For short-term loans, 78.6% were liabilities of financial institutions, with 21.4% held by non-financial institutions.

The data also highlighted that the private sector is expected to repay $52.1 billion in principal over the next 12 months.