USD500-M COVID-19 Loans from AIIB to Increase Access to Liquidity in Turkey
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) Board of Directors has approved loans totaling USD500 million to two development banks in Turkey, backed by a government guarantee, to alleviate liquidity constraints faced by Turkish companies in infrastructure and other productive sectors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Turkey’s private sector has been severely impacted by the pandemic due to lockdown measures, supply chain disruptions and the global downturn. This is especially the case among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which employ approximately 74 percent of the country’s workforce. Companies are facing revenue and job losses as well as funding difficulties. The crisis is also expected to aggravate financial institutions’ funding and liquidity vulnerabilities, leaving financing gaps to address the liquidity constraints among businesses.