Turkish gov’t to launch new credit guarantee fund to ease tradespeople’s access to financing

ANKARA

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Turkey’s government is set to establish a new credit guarantee fund for tradespeople and craftspeople to gain easier access to financing, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said. 

“The new credit guarantee fund will go online in the next couple of months. The credit guarantee transactions will be made in a more competitive environment, and companies will thus benefit from the existing 250 billion-Turkish Lira collateral volume in a quicker manner,” he was quoted as saying by Anadolu Agency on Feb. 5.
 
The government announced in late 2016 that it would introduce up to 250 billion liras in credit that was especially aimed at small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to ease their cash flow problems.

Turkey already has a credit guarantee fund under the Treasury’s guarantees which provides guarantee for SMEs that cannot obtain credit due to insufficient collateral. It also helps SMEs access finance.

The new fund will be launched under the auspices of the state-run Halkbank to increase and accelerate tradespeople and craftspeople’s access to financing, said Şimşek.