Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that, due to the new type of coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, the Credit Guarantee Fund (KGF) limit has been increased to 500 billion TRY, “So far 120,000 companies have been allocated 108 billion TRY of funding. 96% of them are SMEs. The job that came to KGF is at the bank's disposal the next morning. There is no waiting time.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu, speaking at the opening of the seminar, said that their task in the process of the pandemic is to strengthen the spirit of solidarity and fight all together.

Hisarcıklıoğlu explained that they conveyed the problems from the chambers and exchanges in the provinces to the relevant authorities, “Our goal is to keep our production and trade capacity alive, to keep our companies and entrepreneurs alive. So when this process is behind us, it's about getting back on your feet and continuing to work. One of the topics we're addressing is access to funding. Our work on TOBB Breath Credit was essentially over at the beginning of the month, but our banks could not start this due to the workloads which have increased considerably due to other loan packages. We finally implemented it this morning.”

Stating that TOBB, chambers and exchanges have allocated all resources for the use of companies, Hisarcıklıoğlu said:

“This time it will be the lowest interest rate on The Breath Loan, 7.5 percent annually. In addition, this year, companies will not pay any principals or interest. In this process, KGF became very important. In the last 13 years, this is the 7^th iteration of this loan. Whenever our members are in difficulty, TOBB transfers all its resources to our members. The government has increased its 250 billion liras bail support increased to 500 billion liras. So far, 120,000 companies have been allocated 108 billion liras of financing. 96% of them are SMEs. Of course, all the numbers also mean a big workload.

I’ve personally witnessed their hard work day and night. No one finishes working at night until it's over. The job that came to KGF is at the bank's disposal the next morning. There's no waiting time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all KGF employees for their efforts.”

- “We have increased our credit capacity to 500 billion liras”

KGF General Manager Akdeniz, stating that they are working very hard throughout the Covid-19 process, said that the outbreak has created results that the world has not encountered so far.

Stressing that the most important goal is navigating this process without damaging the real sector production and employment capacity in Turkey, Akdeniz said, “This means ensuring cash flow. With KGF bail, it is important to try to survive this period without any problems in cash flow, especially through loans provided by our public banks and the entire banking sector. The second goal was to get through this period without damaging employment capacity. All our Treasury management, all banking sector, chambers, especially Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, worked intensively.”

Akdeniz noting that in the process to minimize economic damage, they have created numerous support packages, as the KGF, they can provide bails and create packages through the guarantees provided by the Treasury and the Ministry of Finance.