Moody's boosts Turkish banking outlook to stable

Leading international credit rating agency Moody's yesterday upgraded the outlook for the Turkish banking system from "stable-to-negative" to stable. The upgrade reflects the system's improved capital and liquidity position, improving asset-quality trends, and the economic recovery and positive growth prospects within Turkey, said Moody's. Turkish banks have shown resilience during the recent global financial crisis, as evidenced by their balance-sheet strength, which has been supported by appropriate loan-loss provisioning, a solid capital base, and recurrent earnings generation. "Financial sector reforms that were enacted following the 2000-2001 financial crisis set the foundations for the stability of the banking system today," explained Arif Bekiroglu, a Moody's assistant vice president and author of the report.