Government sees no big risk in Turkish economy, financial system: Albayrak

PARIS

The government sees no big risk regarding Turkey’s economy or financial system, as the economy’s foundations are robust in mainly three areas, Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak has said. 

En route from Paris to Ankara, he also told a group of journalists that the government has been seeing the recent fluctuations as an opportunity to strengthen the country’s economy and financial system.

In elaborating on the strong fundamentals, Albayrak said the public sector’s debt levels were low, household indebtedness was among the world’s lowest and the financial sector was quite robust.

“We do not see a big risk regarding the Turkish economy and financial system, as our economy has strong fundamentals. The main point here is for us to examine what our deficiencies are … In this regard, we will realize the required structural reforms,” the minister said on Aug. 27 when he was returning from Paris, where he held a meeting with his French counterpart Bruno Le Maire.

According to Albayrak, the Turkish economy has three characteristics which will enable it “to minimize the risks of any global crises.”

“First of all, our public sector’s debt is one of the world’s lowest in terms of net indebtedness. There is not any risk in this area,” he said.

“Secondly, Turkey also has one of the lowest levels of household indebtedness,” Albayrak added.

“Thirdly, our financial system is quite robust. Despite all recent tests, the system functions very well. The capital adequacy rate of our banks is at 16 percent, much higher than the European limit at 8 percent,” he said, adding that “the government does not see a big risk in general thanks to these strengths.”

Albayrak noted the government saw the recent fluctuations in Turkish markets and the lira as an opportunity to do better.

“We must build a much stronger structure to evade any future economic or financial fluctuations. We have taken the required lessons from the recent developments. We see this process as an opportunity to build do better,” he said, adding that there were political reasons behind the recent fluctuations.

“The recent process was completely political, as there is not any change in Turkey’s strong economic fundamentals,” he said, while signaling further cooperation in economic terms with new actors after Qatar.

A row with Washington over an American evangelical Christian pastor detained in Turkey on terror charges has accelerated losses in the lira, which is down about 38 percent against the dollar this year.

Investors have now eyed the medium-term economic program, which is slated to be announced by Albayrak early in September.

After a meeting with his French counterpart in Paris, Albayrak highlighted Ankara’s push for better ties with Europe and took aim at the United States, saying U.S. sanctions could ultimately aggravate the region’s terrorism and refugee crises.