Basci praises Turkey's lending growth rate

Central Bank Governor Erdem Basci made a speech on the sidelines of the third Istanbul Finance Summit (IFS), saying that the countries which fail to control the lending growth rate face crises. “We aimed to decrease our lending growth rate to 25 percent in 2011 and below 15 at the end of 2012, and succeeded in achieving our goal. As from today, the lending growth rate in Turkey has approached sustainable levels without any problems,” Basci said. Basci added that if the inflation rate has remained on 5 percent for 30 years, income per capita would have amount to $15,000 rather than $1,500 last year.