East posts highest rise in cash loans

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

Children are seen at a historic church in Muş, the southeastern province.

Turkey’s southeastern and eastern provinces registered the highest rise in cash loans on an annual basis last year, according to yesterday’s data provided by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK).

Muş ranked first with total cash loans rising to 493.9 million Turkish Liras from 306.8 million liras. Muş was followed by Batman, Mardin and Hakkari. Total cash loans for 2011 registered at 691.4 billion liras.

The province of Gaziantep witnessed a 43 percent increase in cash loans, marking a dramatic increase from 2010, according to the data. The provinces of Diyarbakır and Şırnak also experienced a 41 percent rise in cash loans.

The provinces of Antalya and Adana in Turkey’s south also saw significant increases in cash loans in 2011 due in part to Antalya’s tourism potential.

In the Marmara region, Kocaeli with its automotive industry registered a 14 percent increase year-over-year, reaching roughly 15 billion liras in cash loans.

Istanbul saw a 26 percent rise in cash loans for 2011, while Ankara saw a similar 23 percent increase.