S&P: Management is Turkish banking sector's strength

The United States based credit-rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) assessed the strengths and weaknesses of the Turkish banking sector, and indicated regulation, auditing and management are the sector's strong suits. According to S&P's Banking Industry Credit Risk Assessment (BIRCA), household and institution indebtedness has eased in general, and the sector is consistent and capable of adequately pricing risks.

The assessment also found that the sector contains better regulation, auditing and management compared to other developing countries. On the other hand, the assessment suggested that low domestic savings, the high amount of foreign debt with low maturities and tense funding positions of Turkish banks due to the underdeveloped loan market, hinder the Turkish banking sector's steadiness. S&P evaluated the other major weaknesses, including the relatively low gross domestic income (GDI) per capita of Turkey, the credit risk due to the Turkish lira's volatility and high amounts of commercial credit loans tied to foreign currency.