The Turkish private sector's outstanding loans from abroad fell in March compared to the end of last year, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) announced Monday.

Long-term debts hit $177.6 billion as of March, falling $3 billion from the end of 2019, with 42.2% held by financial institutions.

Some 61.8% of the Turkish private sector's long-term debt was in U.S. dollars, with 33.5% in euros, 3% in Turkish liras and 1.7% in other currencies.

The private sector's short-term loan debt that must be paid in the next 12 months also fell $1.2 billion to $7.8 billion in the same period.

Financial institutions held 76.2% of the short-term loans, while 23.8% consisted of liabilities of nonfinancial institutions.

"Regarding the currency composition of the total short-term loans, 43.2% consists of U.S. dollars, 33.2% consists of euros, 22.9% consists of Turkish liras and 0.7% consists of other currencies," it said.