Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Representatives of the real sector and financial sector attended the meeting held in Kayseri following meetings in Denizli, Konya, Izmir and İstanbul. Before the meeting, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and TBB President Hüseyin Aydın gave a statement to the press members.

TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that TBB and TOBB have realized a first together and said, “We are organizing dialogue meetings in Anatolia. After Denizli-Konya-Izmir-Istanbul, we are now in Kayseri. Banks have met with the real sector to listen to their troubles.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the real sector and the finance sector have developed a common understanding of each other and said, “So, we will overcome this troubled period by working together. Both sectors need to be strengthened. We forwarded our suggestions to the government and continue to communicate. It is vital to keep the access of real sector and especially SMEs open to finance.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that there have been positive developments in the economy in the recent period, but the economic revival is not yet at the desired point.

Hisarcıklıoğlu reported that the tax cuts proposals for the four sectors from the Chambers and Exchanges have been relayed to the government were realized and added, “Our government has taken the first step. Short working allowance was activated. Yesterday, eligible taxpayers who are having difficulty in paying taxes were provided a 60-month reprieve from SSI debts. All these measures boost the morale of the market, while showing that our government supports trade.”

Expressing their belief that this turbulent process to be temporary, the TOBB President continued, “We know that Turkey has solid foundations. In the last 25 years, we have overcome various crises and turbulences, both internally and externally. We've overcome them all and continued on. In order to overcome these troubled days, the real sector and the finance sector have joined hands. Because we are all for Turkey. I believe that we will overcome this bump on the road.”

Turkey Banks Union (TBB) Chairman Hüseyin Aydın said, “I can say that the economy is moving in a positive direction as the Banks Union. We are on the same ship with the real sector as the financial sector. We're running fast. There may be shortcomings but we are looking to ourselves to address these and we’ll continue to do so.”