Turkish private sector long-term foreign debt falls

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA

The Turkish private sector’s long-term foreign debt fell $80 million this July from the end of December 2017, the country's Central Bank announced Wednesday.

The sector's long-term loans reached $221.6 billion as of July, the Turkish Central Bank said in a statement.

The bank also said the sector's short-term loans -- debt that must be paid in the next 12 months -- rose $320 million to $18.9 billion during the same period.

"As for the sectoral breakdown by the end of July, of the total long-term loans, 49.8 percent consists of the liabilities of financial institutions, while 50.2 percent consists of the liabilities of non-financial institutions," the statement said.

Nearly 60 percent of Turkey's private sector long-term debt was in U.S. dollars, with 34.6 percent in euros, 4.1 percent in Turkish liras, and 1.6 percent in other currencies.

The liabilities of financial institutions and non-financial institutions accounted for 76.7 percent and 23.3 percent, respectively, of the private sector’s short-term foreign debt.

Some 45.9 percent of short-term debt was in U.S. dollars, followed by 33 percent in euros, 21 percent in Turkish liras, and 0.1 percent in other currencies.