Turkey's Halkbank offers cheap loans to pay off credit card debts

ANKARA

Turkey’s Halkbank has become the third state bank to declare a low-interest rate campaign for citizens to pay off their credit card debts.

The debts of customers will be restructured with a minimum 1.1 percent interest rate and due date up to five years, a statement by the lender read on Jan. 21.

“We are working on [projects] to maintain market stability and keep real economy strong, thus deserve our people’s confidence,” said the bank’s general manager, Osman Arslan.

The Halk Support Credit “will give our clients a sigh of relief,” he said.

Earlier this month, two other state lenders, Ziraat Bank and Vakif Bank, had announced similar campaigns as part of a government initiative announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who vowed a string of other incentives ahead of the March 31 local elections.