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Turkey's bounce-back 'impressive' says expert

Istanbul

Turkey's bounce back from last summer's challenge was "impressive", says an expert from Fitch Ratings.

"Turkey has shown a very impressive resilience, flexibility, and recovered and stabilised from the financial crisis of last summer," said Ed Parker, Fitch Ratings' managing director for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa EMEA region.

At a London conference, Parker pointed to Turkey's strong fundamentals, with its low government debt and healthy private banks. He also praised the flexibility of Turkey's private sector, and highlighted that the country had posted a current account surplus, and that its inflation had eased.

Turkish Central Bank data showed Turkey's current account balance posted a $1.2 billion surplus this July, compared to its $2.2bn deficit in July 2018. August saw a year-on-year inflation rise of 15.01%, an improvement on July's figures.

Parker said sentiment has improved as the months have passed.

There was a lot of doubt this time last year," he said. 

While there are still risks ahead, with strong fundamentals Parker predicted good progress for Turkey.


Lower interest rates revive mortgage demand 

The Central Bank's interest rate cut has allowed banks to slash rates on mortgages, loans and business credits, reviving demand for mortgages and consumer loans. 

The rate was cut last year in a  bid to shore up inflation and halt the slide of the lira. Now, would-be homeowners are taking advantage of mortgage rates slashed by around half to buy their first homes.

In August, overall house sales in Turkey increased by 5.1% year on year, following seven months of decline. TurkStat data showed that 110,538 homes changed hands last month, and housing sales with mortgages jumped 168% year on year. However, this is expected to increase, with one expert predicting that house sales in October will be double what they were in August.

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