Turkish authorities have, under a new regulation, eased conditions for tradespeople and artisans to access financing, a directive published in the country's Official Gazette showed on Thursday.
Commenting on the regulation, Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek announced that under it, the government has made it easier for tradespeople who do not fully meet the loan criteria to access financing.
He noted that they continue to strengthen tradespeople's access to financing under Treasury-backed plans.
"We cover a significant portion of the interest burden in Treasury-backed investment and operating loans," he said.
"With the new regulation we have enacted, we are making it easier for our tradespeople who do not fully meet the loan conditions to access financing. We will always continue to stand by our tradespeople who produce, invest, and provide employment," he added.
Accordingly, the regulation indicates that the interest rate reduction ratios applied to Treasury-backed investment and operating loans provided under certain conditions to tradespeople and artisans by state-run Halkbank have been redefined.
The relevant Presidential Decree was published in the Official Gazette and has thus entered into force.
Within the scope of the relevant law, tradespeople and artisans must, with a document obtained no more than 15 days before, have no overdue public receivables or social security premium debts to the tax offices, or, if such debts exist, they must be restructured and the restructuring should not be disrupted.
With the new decree, if this condition cannot be met, two alternatives have been offered for tradespeople and artisans to benefit from loans provided by Halkbank.
First, an amount corresponding to up to 25% of the Treasury-subsidized loan must be paid to the relevant authorities on behalf of the person. The annual amount collected in this scope cannot exceed TL 300,000.
The interest reduction provided by the Treasury on the interest portion of the debt is also set at 25%. After the debt payment is made, the loan is granted to the tradesperson or artisan. The amounts related to disbursement and the Treasury interest subsidy are recorded and monitored separately from the loan itself.
Second, for the relevant tradespeople and artisans who cannot fully meet the specified criteria, the Treasury interest reduction ratio for investment and operating loans will be applied as 40% instead of 50% for some groups, 80% instead of 100%, and 48% instead of 60% for other groups.
Additionally, under this decree, it was also decided that for certain traditional, cultural, and artistic professions that are at risk of disappearing – such as hand weaving, copper processing, tile and pottery making, mother-of-pearl inlay, wood carving, spoon-making, and quilt-making– the aforementioned conditions will not be required for loans to be extended until Dec. 31, 2027.
Previously, the deadline was set to end on Dec. 31, 2026.
