Uncertainties tiring out Turkish economy: Leading banker

BURSA

One of the key factors exhausting Turkey’s economy is ongoing uncertainties, the head of Turkey’s largest listed lender has said, adding that it will be important as to whether Turkey will focus on another date after the April 16 referendum.

İş Bank CEO Adnan Bali said all investors and market players want to predict what will happen, but the ongoing “waiting mood” and uncertainties have tired out the economy. 

“All business players want to see what will happen…Therefore, I believe the yields of some key measures by the public sector have not been seen adequately,” he told a group of journalists on the sidelines of the Uludağ Economy Summit, Reuters reported March 28. 

“I believe that these will be seen much more clearly when a more predictable period starts in Turkey,” he said. 

Bali said it was very crucial for Turkey as to whether it would focus on another date after the April 16 referendum. 

“Are we going to back to work and to do what our roles require again? Or are we going to enter another waiting mood by focusing on another key date for the country? That will be crucial,” he said. 

Bali also said the sector had not seen any significant increases in long-term foreign borrowings recently but that there had been a 30-40 point increase in short-term borrowings. 

“This is tolerable right now,” he added. 

Meanwhile, in his opening speech in a session at the summit, Bali said Turkey faced “the most unexpected” 2016, from the diplomatic crisis with Russia to terror attacks and a coup attempt, all of which were heightened by several global developments, including the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president. 

According to a follow-up press release, he noted that all of these developments had led to economic problems. 

“For instance, we lost our credit rating in three years after we had waited for it 19 years. None of what we faced was normal. Despite all the negativity, our system still works,” he said, adding that İş Bank had taken key initiatives during these times.