Turkish business leaders urge banks to lower commercial loan rates

Business leaders in Konya are calling on Turkish banks to immediately pass on the benefits of recent monetary policy normalization to commercial and SME loan rates. Following steps by the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye to reduce market funding costs—effectively a 3 percent implicit reduction—represent a positive shift toward financial stability.

Selçuk Öztürk, President of the Konya Chamber of Commerce, and İbrahim Burkay, President of the Konya Chamber of Industry, emphasized that the current gap between policy rates and commercial lending rates places significant pressure on the real sector. They noted that high credit costs, tightening limits, and stringent collateral requirements are hindering production, investment, and commercial activities.

To support economic continuity, leaders are requesting that banks reflect these lower funding costs in the interest rates currently ranging between 45% and 55% for SMEs. Additionally, there are calls for the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) to provide more credit flexibility for small businesses and for the Central Bank to maintain support for exporters through rediscount credits.