Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), said, "I travel around Anatolia constantly, I am in 1 or 2 provinces every week. The biggest problem I see is access to finance. Our loan interest rates have been very high for a long time. Moreover, the issue does not end with interest alone."
The Real Sector and Finance Sector Dialogue Strengthening Meeting was hosted by Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB). Delivering an opening speech at the meeting, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that they brought the producing side of Türkiye and the financing side of Turkey to the same table. Hisarcıklıoğlu noted that representatives of the real sector from all corners of the country, from Edirne to Kars, were present in the hall and said, "Next to me are the general managers of the largest banks of this country. I attach great importance to this meeting. Because the real sector and the financial sector are like the wings of a bird. Both must be strong and act together so that the bird can fly. I would also like to thank our esteemed general managers. They stand by the real sector in troubled days. I always say, fortunately we have public banks. Today de bu davete icabet edip, 367 oda ve borsamızın başkanıyla bir araya gelmekten çekinmediler. Dost, kara günde belli olur. Dünya büyük bir dönüşümden geçiyor. Serbest ticaret dönemi fiilen bitti. Herkes kendi sanayisini koruyor, kendi üreticisini kolluyor. Ticaret artık sadece ekonomi değil; güç ve güvenlik meselesi haline geldi. Böyle bir dünyada üretim kapasitesi, bir ülkenin en kıymetli hazinesidir. O yüzden firmalarımızı, milli servetimiz olarak görüyoruz ve bu zorlu dönemde onları korumak zorundayız. Böyle bir dünyada firmalarını nefessiz bırakan hiçbir ülke, sanayisini "While our competitors provide cheap and abundant financing to their producers, we will fall behind in this race. Look, we are the industrial giant of our region."
"I would like to express my gratitude for the new manufacturing industry investment package worth 1 trillion lira, which our President gave the good news"
Pointing out that Turkey is the industrial giant of the geography between Italy and China, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, "But lately, we have been rapidly losing blood in the industry. If a country loses its industry, it takes generations to regain it. That's why we say: We will protect our companies today; tomorrow will be too late. In this context, I would like to express my gratitude, on behalf of myself and my community, for the new manufacturing industry investment package worth 1 trillion lira, which our President gave the good news yesterday. This package is the most concrete indicator that our state hears the voice of the real sector."
"The biggest problem I see is access to finance."
Stating that, as the business world, they support the anti-inflation program, Hisarcıklıoğlu said:
"We know that inflation is the common enemy of all of us. Without low inflation, there will be neither investment nor predictability nor permanent growth. We sincerely want the program to be successful. But while providing this support, it is our duty to share our experiences in the field with open heart. I travel around Anatolia constantly, I am in 1 or 2 provinces every week. The biggest problem I see is access to finance. Our loan interest rates have been very high for a long time. Moreover, it does not end with interest alone. When we say commissions, expenses, file fees, our companies The cost they incur exceeds the declared interest. My furniture dealer in Kayseri and my textile dealer in Denizli tell me this. Let's not forget that more than 99 percent of the businesses in this country are SMEs. SMEs mean Anatolia; SMEs mean employment. If their access to finance is blocked, not only one of the balance sheet items will be closed, but the workshop in the district will be closed. "It will stop, our young people will be unemployed. That's why our SMEs are the focus of today's meeting."
"We expect the 20-point gap between policy interest and loan interest rates to narrow."
Stating that he knows that banks' hands are tied in many areas due to macroeconomic conditions, regulations and credit growth limits, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, "But if we explain our problems to each other correctly and act together, we can be a common voice for the improvement of this framework. For example, we can together demand the loosening of growth limits in commercial loans and their complete removal for SME loans. This is the real value of today's meeting. Let me briefly share our expectations in the presence of the public; inflation has finally entered the decline path, geopolitical risks are also calming down. "The table creates a suitable basis for a reduction in the policy rate. We expect steps in this direction from our Central Bank. As the policy rate decreases, banks should also take responsibility. We expect the gap between the policy rate and loan rates, which is approximately 20 points today, to narrow."
"With Breath Credit, we provided more than 100 billion liras of credit to 73 thousand companies."
Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that rediscount credit opportunities should be increased significantly in order to relieve exporters and made the following statements:
"We expect positive discrimination in loan allocation to our SMEs. If resources are scarce, let's give priority to those who need it the most. As a matter of fact, the best example of what we can achieve together is the Breath Loan. In the last 20 years, we have joined hands with our Credit Guarantee Fund and banks and successfully completed 12 Breath Loan programs. With the Breath Loan, which we restarted in the last year, we have provided over 100 billion liras of credit to 73 thousand companies. But the demand is at least ten times that. This table It tells us two things: First, the need for financing in the field is much greater than it seems. Second, we can produce fast and effective solutions when we work together. But let me also add this: We can turn Nefes into a regularly functioning, corporate SME financing channel, rather than a lifeline that is used once or twice a year. We can expand the limits, extend the terms, and deliver it to more companies, with more favorable conditions. There is infrastructure; the rest is cooperation. Our presidents will speak in the closed part of our meeting; there are already nearly 70 requests for speech. After the meeting, we will hold around 500 one-on-one meetings. So, we will not just talk here today; we will bring the voice of the field directly to the addressee. Let me conclude with this: If the real sector and the financial sector understand each other, there is no problem we cannot solve. "We will not give up on dialogue, consultation and common sense. Congratulations on this beautiful meeting. I thank you all for your participation."
In addition to TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu, Ziraat Bank General Manager Alpaslan Çakar, Vakıfbank General Manager Osman Arslan, Türkiye Halk Bankası General Manager Recep Süleyman Özdil and business world representatives attended the meeting. - ANKARA