The funding that Türkiye’s state-owned financial institution providing banking services to exporters extended this year is expected to reach $41 billion (TL 1.19 trillion) by the end of 2023, its chairperson said Tuesday.
Export Credit Bank of Türkiye (Türk Eximbank) has provided $38 billion from January through November, General Manager Ali Güney said, adding that they supported 16,800 exporters, with the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) ratio reaching 84%.
"In 2022, we supported a total of 15,440 exporters, of which 81% were SMEs, while in 2023, the number of supported exporters increased to 16,800, with an SME ratio of 84%," Güney told Anadolu Agency (AA).
"To date, our bank has provided TL 35.4 billion of loans with the guarantee of Export Development Inc., which was established in partnership with the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) and Türk Eximbank under the coordination of Trade Ministry to facilitate our exporters’ access to finance and contribute to the solution of collateral problems," he explained.
"Moreover, in 2022, our bank, which secured $2.2 billion in funds from foreign capital markets and financial institutions, provided an additional $4.2 billion in funding by the end of November 2023, supporting the utilization of exporters," he added.
Detailing the global financial conditions, Güney said that "2023 is a year where inflationary pressures continue to be felt in the global economy" and that they have had a year in which financial conditions tightened due to the contractionary monetary policies of developed countries and economic activity continued, albeit at a slower pace.
Despite increased geopolitical risks and deepening crises such as volatility in commodity prices and the impacts of the climate crisis, Güney emphasized that improvements continue in global supply conditions and supply chains. He noted that supply-side inflation pressures are decreasing, and the effects of tight monetary policies on demand are being felt more clearly.
Furthermore, Güney highlighted the strong outlook of the banking sector in terms of capital adequacy.
He said that the sector’s capital adequacy ratio was 18.4% in October, well above the legal minimum of 8% set by Basel criteria and the target rate of 12% in Türkiye.
Regarding simplification measures, Güney mentioned that the relaxation of mandatory reserve requirements and securities obligations by banks in favor of increasing Turkish lira deposits has increased the ratio of nonresident Turkish lira deposits.
He stated that these simplification steps have effectively increased the banking sector’s credit appetite. He predicted that access to finance issues would be resolved, especially in selective areas that would boost exports.
"In this context, it has been prioritized to pursue a high value-added export-oriented growth policy," he said.
"The central bank also increased the daily limit on rediscount loans from TL 1.5 billion to TL 3 billion to support selective credit utilization and exporters’ access to financing," noted Güney.
Reiterating that Türk Eximbank continues to serve exporters with 23 branches and 12 liaison offices, Güney said that, like this, they continue their physical activities in the cities where 94% of Türkiye’s exports are made.
"In 2022, we provided $19.6 billion in cash loans to our exporters and by covering $25.3 billion of term receivables under insurance, we created an environment where our exporters can sell safely," he said.
"We provided a total of $38 billion of support in the first 11 months of 2023, and we anticipate that we will reach a support volume of $41 billion by the end of 2023," he noted.
He concluded by expressing the commitment of Türk Eximbank as the official export credit institution of Türkiye to continue its activities in line with the country’s export goals and the needs of exporters.