Page 25 - TURKRptNov20

September 2019.
Following the coronavirus crisis, Turkey’s t​ourism industry,​which was already hit by the crisis in relations with Russia and security troubles in 2015-2016, will be joining the construction and energy industries in the world of debt troubles.
The government has provided some relief to the ​construction industry​with subsidised mortgage loans in recent months and to the ​energy industry​in hiking electricity prices for consumers and cutting the sale prices of the government-run electricity producer EUAS.
On June 25, Sabanci Holding CEO Cenk Alper said that Temsa, Sabanci’s bus-making joint venture with Skoda Transportation, is to hold debt-restructuring talks with lenders including Akbank.
On October 19, business daily Dunya r​eported​that Temsa has successfully concluded the debt restructuring​talks with a group of creditors, led by state-owned lender Ziraat.
Also in June, Hema Group agreed a refinancing agreement on a €400mn loan.
In December 2019, Bloomberg quoted unnamed bankers as saying that the government put pressure on senior private sector bankers to approve “ridiculous” debt restructuring demands made by pro-government businessmen.
Turkish banks have suspended a plan to create an asset management firm to take over their problematic debt​in a bet that they’d be better off recovering some of the loans themselves rather than unloading them at a discount, Bloomberg r​eported​on October 20.
7.1.4 ​Banks news
7.2 ​Central Bank policy rate
Fitch has affirmed Islamic bank Kuveyt Turk (KFINKK) at B+/Negative, four notches below investment grade, the ratings agency ​said​on October 7.
Fitch Ratings affirmed Islamic lender Turkiye Finans at B+/Negative, four notches below investment grade, the rating agency ​said​on October 7.
Fitch has affirmed Turkey’s government-run Islamic lender Vakif Katilim, a subsidiary of Vakifbank, at B/Negative, five notches below investment grade, the ratings agency ​said​on October 7.
On October 22, the central bank ​hiked​its late liquidity window rate by 150bp to 14.75%.
In dealing with Turkey’s fundamental financial problems, a real policy simplification is absolutely i​mpossible​since the central bank’s FX reserves are at around minus $50bn when the USD swaps with local banks are excluded.
The central bank simply cannot stop swapping USD from banks in exchange for providing them with lira funding.
The central bank’s funding via open market operations amounts to less than the total lira funding it provides the banks via USD-TRY swap auctions.
For fans of puzzles, Haluk Burumcekci of Burumcekci Consulting calculats, in
25​ TURKEY Country Report​ November 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com