BANKING PRIVATIZATION IN TURKEY

Authors : İmre ERSOY

Pages : 201-230

View : 19 | Download : 20

Publication Date : 2001-12-27

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :It seems impossible to drive a general rule concerning the outcomes of privatization that would be applicable to each country or sector. Privatization may lead to better use of resources but also to extraction of profit overseas and growing industrial concentration. Privatization of banking is more delicate an issue because of the potential to undermine confidence in the system. Moreover, there is the problem of obtaining data on bank privatization as public banks have always been an important government tool and it is generally the politicians who plan what, when and how to privatize. Hence, the results of banking privatization, that are only visible in the long run, change in each country depending on the timing, objectives and methods of privatization. The recent financial crises in the Turkish economy has caused a vast number of bank nationalisations. While some of the nationalised banks are privatized in 2001, the remaining nationalised banks and the stateowned banks are on the agenda of privatization now. However, the results of the previous bank privatisations of 1990s are not promising as two banks that were privatized previously had to be renationalised recently. The problems concerning bank privatizations in Turkey regarding the market structure, lack of competitive environment, lack of legal and regulatory framework, the objectives and the method of privatization still persist. Today, the problem is even more severe due to economic and political instability in the Turkish economy since success in bank privatizations depends also on the proper timing.
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