10 October 2017•Update: 11 October 2017
By Murat Birinci
ISTANBUL
The market impact of the suspension of U.S. visa services will be neither permanent nor negative, a leading Turkish banker said on Tuesday.
Turkey’s economy has gone through a lot of tests over the past two years, Fuat Erbil, the president and CEO of leading Turkish private lender Garanti Bank, told a press conference.
He stressed that everyone will see how strong and successful the Turkish banking sector's reaction is.
Erbil highlighted that the banking sector has enough foreign currency liquidity to deal with more serious shocks.
He said: "The capital adequacy ratios of the Turkish banking sector are probably at their highest levels in recent history."
"I think that the situation will be solved swiftly, with rationality and goodwill, with certain urgency," he added.
"If this issue is solved I do not think the effect of the market will be permanent or negative."
The market's reaction yesterday was sharp, so a slightly softer day began this morning, he emphasized.
Erbil also said that their research unit estimates 3rd quarter growth in Turkey of over 8 percent and that they expect growth of 6 percent for the whole year.
On Sunday, the U.S. suspended non-immigrant visa operations at all diplomatic facilities in Turkey, saying it was reassessing Ankara's commitment to the security of U.S. facilities and personnel.
Turkey responded by suspending non-immigrant visa service in the U.S., citing security concerns.
