Aykan Erdemir | Turkey Program Senior Director
Turkey’s government goes on the defensive as the main opposition presses for answers on how the central bank ended up with negative reserves. Read More
Saddled with chunky foreign debt repayments in 2021, Turkey might face hefty borrowing costs and renewed currency jitters.
The Washington Examiner
February 18, 2021
https://www.meforum.org/62033/to-diminish-terror-finance-audit-global-charities
Aykan Erdemir and Umut Can Fidan — FDD Memo
Concerns continue to mount about the integrity of the Turkish financial system. News reports surfaced in January alleging that one of Turkey’s largest financial institutions was involved in questionable offshore deals, conflicts of interest, and irregular transactions with the country’s wealth fund. Turkey’s largest lender, Ziraat Bank, and largest mobile phone operator, Turkcell, are at the center of the scandal. Multiple news outlets report that Ziraat extended a $1.6 billion nonperforming loan to an offshore company, likely under the direction of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Read more
quoting Raghuram Rajan via The Northlines
Indian banking sector was earlier in private hands. However, during the 1970’s, the Indian government was of the opinion that banks favor the rich and that the poor must also be given access to cheap credit. With this view, several banks were nationalized. With Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement of bank privatisation, all eyes are on public sector banks.
By Burak Bekdil, February 24, 2021
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Turks have been seeking to modernize their democratic culture for a century and a half. Recently, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pledged to reform the constitution. Beware of an Erdoğan bearing democratic gifts.
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