Turkey to offer SMEs a second 25 billion-lira loan package (updated)

Albaraka Turk Katilim Bankasi

01/03/2019 09:34

(Adds details, background)
    ISTANBUL, March 1 (Reuters) - Turkey will offer small- and
medium-size enterprises a second loan package totalling 25
billion lira ($4.67 billion), the finance minister said on
Friday, as the government tries to boost flagging economic
activity.
    Seventeen banks are participating in the package, Berat
Albayrak said, adding that 20 billion lira of the package would
be backed by the treasury.
    The loans will have a maturity of 36 months and allow six
months without principle repayments, the Turkish Banking
Association said. The monthly interest rate will be 1.54 percent
and the annual rate 18.48 percent, the association said. The
loans will be available from next week, it said.
    Turkey rolled out a similar package in January, with 13
banks participating. The banking association said on Friday that
package provided 25 billion lira to SMEs.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nI7N1Z901K
    The government hopes to reinvigorate the economy after a
currency crisis last year slowed its growth to 1.6 percent in
the third quarter and pushed annual inflation above 20 percent.
    The lira lost nearly 30 percent last year amid concern over
the central bank's independence as President Tayyip Erdogan
pushed it to cut borrowing costs. 
    The crisis also raised worries over the state of the
country's banks, which saw an increase in non-performing loan
ratios and a slowdown in loan growth.
    Moody's said recent measures by Turkey to increase loan
growth at state banks threaten the credit of the banks.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS8N1WW01N
    
($1 = 5.3570 liras)

 (Reporting by Nevzat Devranoglu, writing by Ali Kucukgocmen;
editing by Daren Butler, Larry King)
 ((ali.kucukgocmen@thomsonreuters.com , @alikucukgocmen;
+902123507067; Reuters Messaging: Reuters Messaging:
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