Turkey

In this round-up, China saw another sizeable drop to its foreign exchange reserves in November, the Shenzhen Connect saw subdued trading activity in its first four days, and Egypt signed its first currency swap line with China. Plus, a recap of our coverage this week.

The latest loan refinancings for Garanti and QNB Finansbank were trading at a higher level than previous newly issued Turkish bank loans this week, showing how concerns about the weakening lira have driven up pricing. Meanwhile smaller syndicates for Turkish bank loans will be the new normal, according to Garanti's head of financial institutions.

Garanti saw the syndicate for its latest one year loan shrink by five lenders. Other Turkish banks will have to take note as smaller lending groups are set to become a feature of their borrowing, according to the head of financial institutions at the bank.

Since Qatar National Bank completed its acquisition of Turkey’s Finansbank this year, the acquired bank has been able to hold pricing on its annual syndicated loan steady — but most of its country’s other banks are paying more for deals this year, as lenders’ dollar funding costs have risen and the threat of downgrades hangs over Turkey.

The most recent loan refinancings for Turkish banks Garanti and QNB Finansbank were seen trading at a higher level than previous newly issued Turkish bank loans, showing how concerns for the weakening lira has driven up pricing.

Turkey’s QNB Finansbank and Garanti plan to sign their second yearly loan refinancings this week, according to bankers, marking the end of a tumultuous year for Turkish bank loans.

Turk Telekom subsidiary Avea has signed a €90m nine year loan backed by Finnish export credit agency Finnvera, after Avea's ultimate parent company Otas failed to make a repayment on a $4.75bn loan in September.

The Republic of Turkey plans to raise $6bn in the international markets next year using a combination of SEC registered dollar bonds, as well as other instruments, according to debt bankers.

Investor support for Turkey has proved remarkably resilient this year. A coup attempt and ensuing state of emergency, and two downgrades to junk, did little to shake support, but Turkey’s luck is running out as the attention turns to deteriorating economic indicators from the region.

Turkish bonds sold off some 30bp on Friday after President Recep Erdogan’s crackdown on the country’s pro-Kurdish opposition escalated with two high profile arrests. The widening is likely to halt Turkish bond issuance for this year, according to an EM DCM banker focused on the region.

Citi has promoted its Turkey CEO into a broader role of EMEA head of non-presence countries.

Rating: BBB