The annual cost of personal loans in Turkey has reached up to 200 percent

The monthly general purpose loan interest rate in the banking sector varies between 3.37-7.32 percent, according to the data shared by banks on their websites. Hence the annual cost rate, i.e. the annual effective interest cost, has reached 200 percent for some items.

With the new year, things got complicated in the banking sector. While commercial and consumer loan interest rates increased, the high cost prompted citizens to stay away from loans.

However, the banking sector, especially the public sector, launched personal loan campaigns. The campaigns, implemented in response to the Central Bank’s tight monetary policy, aim to increase the use of personal loans, whose annual cost rate, including taxes and commissions, exceeds 170 percent.

The lowest monthly interest rate is 3.37 percent

Central Bank data show that as of the end of January 5, the general-purpose loan rate increased by 167 basis points to 63.42 percent annual compared to the last week of last year.

According to information from banking sector sources, monthly interest rates on 12-month term general purpose loans range between 3.37 and 7.32 percent. This reveals that the annual compound interest rate varies between 56 percent and 100 percent. These interest rates do not include BITT and bank commissions. When these costs are added, a very high cost emerges.

According to the annual cost rate announced by the banks on their websites, that is, the effective annual interest rate, the annual cost rate varies between 80-91 percent when the general-purpose loan with a monthly interest rate of 3.86 percent is used with a 36-month maturity of 10 thousand liras, and when the interest rate exceeds 6 percent, the annual cost rate exceeds 166 percent.