Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), expressed his gratitude on behalf of himself and the TOBB community for the new 1 trillion lira manufacturing industry investment package heralded by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and said, "This package is the most concrete indicator that our state hears the voice of the real sector." he said.
In his speech at the "Real Sector and Financial Sector Dialogue Strengthening Meeting" held at TOBB Twin Towers, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the world is going through a great transformation, the free trade era is practically over and everyone protects their own industry and producers.
Stating that trade has become not only an economic issue but also a matter of power and security, Hisarcıklıoğlu explained that in such a period, production capacity is a country's most valuable treasure.
Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that companies are national wealth and must be protected in difficult times and said, "In such a world, no country that leaves its companies breathless can protect its industry." he said.
Emphasizing that Türkiye is the industrial giant of its region, Hisarcıklıoğlu continued as follows:
"We are the industrial giant of the geography between Italy and China. But lately, we have been rapidly losing blood in industry. If a country loses its industry, it takes generations to regain it. In this context, I would like to express my gratitude, on behalf of myself and my community, for the new manufacturing industry investment package of 1 trillion lira, heralded by our President. This package is the most concrete indicator that our state hears the voice of the real sector."
"Banks also need to take responsibility"
Hisarcıklıoğlu said that, as the business world, they support the anti-inflation program and that inflation is everyone's common enemy.
Stating that there will be no predictability in investment and permanent growth cannot be achieved without decreasing inflation, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that they wholeheartedly want the program to be successful.
In this context, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the biggest problem he sees in the sector is access to finance and that loan interest rates have been high for a long time, and made the following statements:
"Moreover, it does not end with just interest. The cost incurred by our companies, including commissions, expenses, and filing fees, exceeds the declared interest.
My furniture maker in Kayseri and my textile shop in Denizli tell me this. The segment that experiences this problem most deeply is our SMEs. If their access to finance is blocked, not just one balance sheet item is disrupted. The shop in the neighborhood closes, the workshop in the district stops, our young people become unemployed. Banks solve the problems of the elders, no one greets the younger ones. "I say this to all banks."
TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu noted that it could be requested to loosen the growth limits in commercial loans and remove them completely for SME loans.
Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that inflation has finally entered a downward path and geopolitical risks have begun to subside, and made the following assessment:
"This situation 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. Rediscount loan opportunities need to be increased significantly to relieve our exporters. We expect positive discrimination in loan allocation to our SMEs. If resources are scarce, let's give priority to those who need it most."
Giving the example of "Breath Loan" in this context, Hisarcıklıoğlu reminded that they have successfully completed 12 breath loan programs in collaboration with the Credit Guarantee Fund and banks in the last 20 years.
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that they have provided more than 100 billion liras of credit to 73 thousand companies with the Breath Credit, which was re-launched in the last year, and said, "But the demand is at least 10 times that. The need for financing in the field is much greater than it seems. However, when we work together, we can produce fast and effective solutions. We can turn the Breath Credit from being a lifeline applied once or twice a year into a regularly functioning, corporate SME financing channel. We can increase the limits, extend the maturities, "We can deliver it to many of our companies under more favorable conditions." he said.