50 pct credit fall for merchants by Halkbank

Halkbank is to apply a 50 percent interest cut on loans that have been offered to merchants and craftsmen in the manufacturing and maintenance sectors, while it will apply a 100 percent interest cut for merchants and craftsmen who have a "Tradesmen Tax Exemption Certificate" and operate in occupational branches that are in danger of disappearing, such as traditional, cultural and artistic fields. The reduction will apply to loans that have been borrowed since Jan. 1, 2015. The cabinet decision regarding the enforcement practice for loans provided to merchants and craftsmen directly or via Turkey's Merchants and Craftsmen Loan and Bail Cooperatives Union was published in the Official Gazette. Accordingly, interest cuts will be applied to loans granted this year and to the outstanding repayments on loans given in previous years, considering the occupational groups of merchants and craftsmen. Those who take out loans will be required to present a document from the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization (KOSGEB) to prove that they do not receive grants. Meanwhile, a 100 percent interest cut will also be offered to entrepreneurial merchants and craftsmen who have at least a three-year proficiency certificate and who have established a business with this certificate within the last year. No loans will be granted to those merchants and tradesmen who have deferred and delayed debts or who have debts in account receivables that will be liquidated, as well as those who still pay re-structured credit debts, unless they fully pay their debts to Halkbank. The loans will be offered two times a year at most, considering a retroactive one-year period.