Turkish Central Bank reserves total almost $89B in Aug

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA

The official reserves of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) amounted to $88.9 billion as of Aug. 31 this year, the bank announced Friday.

According to the bank's international reserves and foreign currency liquidity report, total reserve assets fell 11.8 percent in August, versus $100.7 billion at the end of July.

Foreign currency reserves -- in convertible foreign currencies -- totaled $68.9 billion, marking a 10.4-percent drop compared to the previous month.

Last month, the bank's gold reserves -- including gold deposits and, if appropriate, gold swapped -- declined by 17.2 percent on a monthly basis to $18.4 billion.

The CBRT's official reserves decreased by 20.6 percent year-on-year, down from $112 billion at the end of August 2017.

In mid-December 2013, the bank's total reserves hit their all-time peak at nearly $136 billion, including some $21 billion in gold reserves.

Liability side

Short-term predetermined net drains of the central government and the CBRT -- foreign currency loans, securities, and foreign exchange deposit accounts of residents abroad within the bank -- recorded a 12.3-percent monthly hike in August, reaching $12 billion, the bank said.

"Of this amount, $7.8 billion belongs to principal repayments and $4.2 billion to interest repayments.

"Regarding the maturity breakdown of the principal and interest payments, $1.4 billion is due in one month, $2.2 billion in 2-3 months, and $8.4 billion in 4-12 months," it added.

The CBRT also said the contingent short-term net drains on foreign currency totaled $36.4 billion in August, going down 36.8 percent from the previous month.

According to the bank's definition, the contingent short-term net drains on foreign currency consist of “collateral guarantees on debt due within one year” and “other contingent liabilities," which are the banking sector’s required reserves in blocked accounts in foreign currency and gold, and the letters of credit items on the Central Bank’s balance sheet.