German bank to give 90 mln euros in loans to Turkish SMEs
Posted by meb at April 10th, 2008
German state-owned development bank KfW has said it would give 90 million euros in loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey via Turkish banks.
Wolfram Erhardt, the director of KfW’s Ankara office, participated in a Germany-Turkey cooperation forum yesterday in Konya, where he said Turkey was not severely affected by the global crisis. Erhardt said that Turkey had not been fully integrated into the global economy like the Middle East, Eastern Europe and the US — an advantage during global fluctuations.
In terms of the banking sector, Erhardt said Turkish banks had not invested in risky securities, noting that the opposite was the case in Europe. “European banks invested in more risky securities and this risk caused problems,” he said, adding that the global economy was experiencing a crisis and that Turkey had not been affected much as investments in risky fields were limited. He said Turkey was being affected from the crisis indirectly because its external financial resources were affected by it. Erhardt also said Turkish banks had to pass on the cost of the rise in loan costs they acquired from abroad to their customers.
The loans being provided by KfW were of great importance, as banks face difficulties in finding new financial resources, Erhardt noted, adding that KfW will provide 90 million euros in loans to SMEs. He said the first of this type of loan was handed out in 2003 in the amount of 20 million euros. “This will be the second phase,” he said, noting that SMEs will acquire long-term loans at reasonable costs. “The Turkish banking sector needs such a resource,” he said, adding that KfW will provide loans to Turkish banks with a four-year maturity — the longest maturity period available.
source: Today’s Zaman
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