Turkey takes step to form 'independent and local' credit rating agency

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency

The Big Three credit rating agencies are Standard & Poor's (S&P), Moody's, and Fitch Group. Turkey has been criticizing the three in the past. “You know how credit rating agencies reported against our country and how they are struggling to not let global capital come to Turkey,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told a meeting of provincial chairs of the ruling Justice and Development Party in March.

Regulations have been made allowing the formation of an independent and local credit rating agency in Turkey, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) head has said.

The new measure provides regulations for licensing credit rating agencies and their activities, Mehmet Ali Akben, the head of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), told Anadolu Agency.

Previously, Akben said Turkey was aiming to establish a national credit rating agency in 2018.

"In Turkey, we have been working for a long time to establish an independent and local credit rating agency which is alive to Turkey's requirements, has a strong, high-level acceptability, and we ended this work at last," he said.

The BDDK will not be a part of the rating agency, Akben said.

He said member banks of the Banks Association of Turkey and the Participation Banks Association of Turkey aim to establish an agency.

"Some regional and international rating agencies have requested information, and have made demands to take part in the local agency," he said.