Turkey: Private sector foreign debt down in January

ISTANBUL

Outstanding short-and long-term debts of Turkey’s private sector posted declines last January, the Turkish Central Bank said on Tuesday.

The private sector's short-term overseas loans -- excluding trade credits -- amounted to $9.8 billion in January, down $49 million compared to the end of last year.

Some 83.6% 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, 40.6%, was in US dollars, while 33.6% was in euros, 23.6% in Turkish liras, and 2.2% in other currencies.

On the other side, the private sector's long-term debt fell by $18 million to $164.1 billion in the same period versus the end of 2020.

The Central Bank said 43.3% of the total long-term foreign loans were owed by financial institutions and 56.7% by non-financial institutions.

On their currency composition, long-term loans totaled $164.1 billion with 62.3% consisting of US dollars, 33.5% in euros, 2.4% in Turkish liras, and 1.8% in other currencies, it added.

Based on a remaining maturity basis, the private sector's total outstanding foreign loans indicate principal repayments of $43.9 billion over the next 12 months by the end of January.