Treasury posts $9.4 billion cash deficit for 2014

The Treasury on Thursday posted a cash balance deficit of TL 21.7 billion ($9.4 billion) for the previous year. According to provisional cash balance figures, Treasury cash revenue was TL 413.23 billion, while its expenditures, including interest payments, were TL 445 billion. High interest, TL 48.2 billion, pushed up the deficit, the Treasury said.

The Treasury also received TL 10 billion from privatization and funds income last year. The central bank's key interest rate was around 8 percent in 2014. On Jan. 28 last year, the central bank more than doubled its borrowing rate from 3.5 percent to 8 percent and raised the lending rate from 7.75 percent to 12 percent to maintain the lira's value against major currencies. In December, the Treasury also posted a cash balance deficit of TL 10.8 billion. The Treasury's cash revenue was TL 34.9 billion for the month, while its expenditures, including TL 1.5 billion in interest payments, were TL 48.1 billion. The Treasury plans to pay back TL 44.8 billion of domestic debt, including TL 11.1 billion of foreign debt, between January and March of 2015, the Treasury said on Dec. 31 last year.

A cash deficit or cash surplus equals revenue minus expenses, minus net acquisition of non-financial assets. It differs in composition from the fiscal deficit, which includes all revenue and expenses. On-budget deficits require the Treasury to borrow money to raise cash needed to keep the county's government operating. The Treasury borrows money by selling securities like treasury bills, notes, bonds and savings bonds to investors.