Turkish banks are sound, say Minister Nebati, regulators

ISTANBUL

Turkish banks and the country’s banking industry are resilient and sound, the top economy official and regulators have said in separate statements.

Despite recent bankruptcies in the U.S. and Europe, the banking sector in Türkiye remained sound and strong, which testified its strength, Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati wrote on Twitter, responding to speculations regarding the health of Turkish banks.

“When the economic crisis hit developed countries during the coronavirus pandemic, we managed to continue to grow and swiftly compensated for the job losses thanks to support from our banking system,” he added.

“What kind of sick mentality is this to make a fuss as if there was a crisis…when the achievements of our economy and banking sector are so evident?” he asked.

Nebati criticized “those doomsayers who seek to make political gains while ignoring the strong macroeconomic data such as growth, employment and exports.”

“This is an obvious lie and slander,” he said.

The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) also issued a statement, saying that comments made in media and social media regarding the banks do not reflect the truth.

The regulator also said that legal actions will be taken against those who made groundless claims. “The banking industry and banks are under our supervision. They have strong financial ratios and liquidity,” the statement added.

The latest data from the BDDK showed that the banking industry’s capital adequacy ratio was 17.67 percent as of the end of March, while the share of non-performing loans in total loans was 1.82 percent.

The Capital Markets Board (SPK) issued a separate statement in which it said groundless comments were made regarding publicly traded companies. “Our capital markets, which are fully integrated with the international markets, operate in an environment which is reliable, transparent, stable and competitive.”