Turkey’s banks may attract lower foreign capital

ISTANBUL - Reuters

Turkey’s banks may have problems attracting foreign money this year due to the fluctuations in the global market said Halkbank CEO Süleyman Aslan, during a meeting organized by Turkish the magazines monthly Capital and weekly Ekonomist Oct.2.

“Banks may still attract money from abroad in 2014, but in lower amounts than before. This may put some pressure on banks’ loan funding,” he said.

He added that savings needed to be increased in Turkey.

Yapı Kredi Bank CEO Faik Açıkalın addressed some regulations that are expected to affect the sector in the short run.

“Such negativities may be compensated with higher growth in the sector’s volume,” Açıkalın said.

New rules to rein in credit card debt will force the country’s banks to set aside more funds to cover non-performing loans, cutting 2 billion Turkish Liras ($1.03 billion) off their annual profits, a senior government official said earlier.

The rules obliging credit card holders to repay more of their debts each month were announced in August, weeks after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged Turks not to use credit cards, accusing banks of locking people into poverty with excessive fees.