Credit Guarantee Fund

Turkey's banking sector achieved its highest growth rate in the last six years in the first quarter of 2017, mainly thanks to a skyrocketing rise in the loan volume, according to the head of the Banks Association of Turkey (TBB).

Over 157,000 companies have obtained 114 billion Turkish Liras ($31 billion) in loans under a new scheme to boost the economy through the Credit Guarantee Fund (KGF), Finance Minister Naci Ağbal has said. 

Speaking at a conference in Istanbul on April 12, Ağbal said a number of key incentives had been presented through different credit channels. 

Turkey's economy grew a faster-than-expected 3.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, mainly due to a significant rise in consumption, data showed on March 31, bouncing back after last July's coup attempt and underpinning hopes of a recovery less than three weeks ahead of a referendum. 

Rating agencies' perception about Turkey will likely change "for the good" when the dual-headedness of the existing system is overcome with the implementation of the presidential system, a top economy official said March 20. 

Turkey's Eximbank is set to pour $40 billion in loans and insurance into more than 100,000 companies in 2017 and to launch its own rating system to measure companies' eligibility for loans, the head of the organization has said.