Babacan: "We want a well-balanced increase in Turkey's credit volume"

Speaking to reporters before leaving for Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan spoke about recent foreign currency outflow from Turkey in the wake of a number of steps by the Central Bank. Stating that a large amount of foreign currency savings has recently been drawn from overnight or day-to-day bank accounts in Turkey, Babacan said, "When we look at the remaining foreign currency savings, we see that those who project a long-term future for themselves in Turkey kept their position." Officials will follow the results of the steps taken by the Central Bank for a while, Babacan said, but made it clear that they don't want to create a perception that anything could change anytime in Turkey. "But this shouldn't be interpreted to mean that we want to reduce the credit volume in Turkey," he added. "We want the credit volume to continue rising in a balanced manner." Asked about credit ratings, Babacan said the ratings issued by international rating agencies fall short of what Turkey deserves. "Turkey's credit rating is in fact much higher than those given by the agencies," he said.