Turkish bankers optimistic in face of Gezi, FED decision

Hülya Güler - ISTANBUL / Hürriyet

Bankers are very optimistic about the future in Turkey, a study says. DAILY NEWS photo

Turkish bankers are more optimistic about the future than most of their colleagues among 10 developing countries, according to a recent Ernst & Young study. They said that they were still optimistic for the future despite the countrywide protests and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s (FED) latest decisions to end the high liquidity party in the global markets gradually.

“We met the Turkish bankers just after the protests had started and the FED had announced its decision about its gradual monetary tapering. We saw they were still keeping their optimism for the future,” William Schlich, Global Banking and Capital Markets Leader of Ernst & Young, said.

The bankers expected some setbacks from the latest developments, but they believed that Turkey had a bright future. “This is very interesting, and a significant indicator that shows the bankers count on the country’s promising future,” Schlich noted.

Study in 10 rapid growth markets

The company made a preliminary study in March among bankers in 10 rapid-growth markets, or RGMs, which are Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, South America, Turkey and Vietnam. The company then met the Turkish bankers just after the Gezi protests and the latest FED
meetings, but saw that there was no change in their optimistic attitudes.

Turkish banks had already been more optimistic about the next year than most the countries above, mainly due to Turkey’s soid moves to make Istanbul a global financial center.