Turkish Central Bank

Turkey's external assets stood at $301.4 billion at the end of September, marking an increase of 17.9% from the end of 2020, according to data released by the Turkish Central Bank said on Nov. 18.

Liabilities against non-residents dropped 9.1% to $587 billion.

A growth model would not be sustainable if not based on efficiency development, Treasury and Finance Minister Lütfi Elvan said in a parliament commission meeting on Nov. 12.

Turkey's current account balance posted a surplus of $1.65 billion in September, bringing the 12-month rolling deficit to $18.4 billion, the Turkish Central Bank revealed on Nov. 11.

In September 2020, the current account balance posted a $2.3 billion deficit.

The Turkish Central Bank raised reserve requirement ratios for foreign currency and precious metal deposit accounts on Nov. 8.

Announcing the move in the Official Gazette, the bank increased the ratio by 200 basis points for all such accounts.

Turkish Central Bank Governor Şahap Kavcıoğlu on Oct. 27 underlined the importance of turning the current account deficit to the positive territory by ramping up credits to exporters.

The Turkish Central Bank on Oct. 21 lowered its one-week repo rate by 200 basis points, well above market expectation.

The policy rate- also known as the one-week repo rate- decreased to 16% from 18%, the bank said in a statement following its 10th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting this year.

TUSIAD President Simone Kaslowski. Photo: TUSIAD

"The independence of regulatory and supervisory institutions, the Central Bank in particular, should be unquestionable," Tuncay Ozilhan, president of the Advisory Council of TUSIAD said at a TUSIAD event.

The Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) increased by 3.9 percent month on month in August, the Turkish Central Bank said in a monthly report on Oct. 18.

The index "recorded an annual increase of 33.4 percent in nominal terms and 11.9 percent in real terms," it said.

The Turkish private sector's outstanding foreign loans in August totaled $173.4 billion, up slightly by $50 million compared to end-2020, the Turkish Central Bank announced on Oct. 14. 

The short-term loans-excluding trade credits- of the sector received from abroad were at $8.9 billion as of August, down $835 million from the end of last year.

The Turkish Central Bank's total reserves stood at $117.8 billion in August, marking an 11.3% increase compared to the previous month, the bank announced on Sept. 28. 

Official reserve assets jumped 11.3%, according to the bank's international reserves and foreign currency liquidity report.