2.2.4. İhracat Reeskont Kredileri

Export rediscount credits are extended in Turkish lira through the Export Credit Bank of Turkey, Inc. (Türk Eximbank) and commercial banks by the acceptance of foreign exchange bills, whereas repayments to the CBRT are made in foreign exchange.

With the amendments made to Article 45 of the CBRT Law, the 120-day limitation for the maximum maturity of bills to be accepted for rediscount was abolished and the CBRT was authorized to define the types of commercial papers and collaterals that could replace one of the signatures and other terms including maturity.

Taking into account the contribution of export rediscount credits to the decrease in the current account deficit and the increase in the CBRT’s foreign exchange reserves, the credit limits were increased by USD 6 billion to USD 12 billion on 15 August 2013.

Moreover, with the revisions made in the regulations on export rediscount credits in August and November 2013,

  1. The maximum maturity of bills to be accepted for rediscount was extended from 120 days to 240 days.
  2. The credit limit for foreign trade capital companies was increased from USD 120 million to USD 240 million; the limit for other types of companies was raised from USD 90 million to USD 180 million; whereas, the entire limit can be used for credit applications with a maturity up to 120 days and a maximum 50 percent of the limit can be used for credit applications with a maturity of 121-240 days.
  3. The interest rate to be applied to export rediscount credits with a maximum maturity of 120 days is the monthly LIBOR or EURIBOR interest rate; the interest rate to be applied to export rediscount credits with a maturity of 121-240 days is the 6-month LIBOR or EURIBOR rate plus 20 basis points.
  4. In order to decrease the credit costs of exporters, the CBRT has started to accept bills with two signatures instead of the third signature by a commercial bank as a guarantee, provided that a transferable letter of credit is submitted.

Export rediscount credit extensions, which were USD 10.5 billion in 2012, increased by around 50 percent to USD 15.1 billion as of 31 December 2013, with an outstanding balance of USD 6.2 billion.

As a result, export rediscount credits contributed USD 12.7 billion to the CBRT’s net foreign exchange reserves in 2013.