Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

since the recent rise in base rate , any offers on whats now being offered by the banks????????????????????????

In my opinion they would be daft raising them more than 1 or 2 points!!!!!!

I suggest that the banks here will not raise their rates because they have little to do, directly, with the Turkish economy.
Any one have thoughts on subject?

Iktisatbank have raised their rate to 10.25%. HSBC don't seem to have raised their rate, don't know about any others.

Most are waiting until next week as they are expecting further increases in the Central Bank rate as the latest stimulus has not worked.

HSBC have raised their rate by a niggardly 1%.

My account at Creditwest was REDUCED from 8% to 7% on January 30th.

Maybe it is to pay for all their sponsorship?

Within a month the Turkish government will have capitualted and it will be 5+ the l to the £.
Get out while you can

Munchkin wrote:Jesus wept another clairvoyant.

chelwood wrote:since the recent rise in base rate , any offers on whats now being offered by the banks????????????????????????

I have an internet, lira, timed account at Garanti bank, current interest rate is 10.4

LaptaTony, I would say it has worked, as the rate has stabilised for the past few days. There's no way way it will get back to less than 3 to the pound. Best case scenario is that it stays level or maybe falls a bit over the next two years and the interest can make up the difference. Sayin Simsek may have to raise rates a bit more though.

I think a new government may make a difference. Are there not elections soon?

On Al Jazeera news this morning a programme called Counting the cost interview the Turkish Finance Minister on this subject and also an insight as to why this has happened.


http://aje.me/1iiU5P5

if you have money in a time deposit -is the rate at which you took out the time deposit fixed or is it variable -for example I have an annual time deposit with iktisat bank -if they have increased rates will this apply to my account?

thanks

frugal90

Have you asked them?

From what I understand with Credit West the rate remains the same as it started to the end of the guaranteed period, remember if it had gone down, you would still have got the same higher rate of interest.

frugal90 - Owl Lady is correct, the rate in force at time you started the time deposit is the one you will get when it matures. If you close the time deposit before it's maturity date you will not receive any interest.

thanks all for your help- I e mailed iktisat bank and that is the answer I got- I am uk based and not out until April
regards

shopped around and ended up staying with my main bank here , managed to get 12% so reasonably happy for now but will keep under review .

Which bank is that chelwood?

Replied but apparently deleted it accidentally. Anyway, I was just going to suggest to anyone who doesn't need regular access to their savings (maybe you take out money once a year or just have one account for saving and one for bills etc.) Near East Bank offered me a great deal when I signed up where whatever the highest interest rate for the year is, that's the rate you get for all 12 months if you're not withdrawing from the account very often (it may be you have to save for 12 months to get the deal before you can take any more out, so it's not very useful if it's money you need regular access to). I was getting around 10.5% when I opened the account a while back but ended up with 11 or 11.5, can't remember, for the year because it went up to that rate at one point. I imagine they're back up around there or 12% and so that will be my interest rate for the year, assuming it doesn't go up. It's a decent time to convert money from pounds, imho. The government is taking steps to stabilize the currency so these crazy 4:1 exchange rates will go down at some point. It could be that it gets worse before it gets better though, I admit. Anyway, I've been quite happy with Near East Bank as a savings bank, though I use Is Bank for my current account as it has more branches and atms available.

Which bank Chelwood?

Ask yourself the question, how does a very small bank offer rates up to 2% higher than the larger well established banks? Where is their incoming arising and is it sustainable?

How many of you know about the case of FMA where rates way over the norm led to people piling in with life savings and have now lost the lot.

universal 12% three months notice min 1m tl.

Good response chelwood, Universal are one of the banks who have caused mega problems with defaulted mortgage payments from builders leaving buyers fighting for their properties! A good example of potential high risk.

High yield means high risk. If you can afford to loose money then gamble on higher risk. Those with FMA could not afford to loose money but they were persuaded to gamble, their loss hundreds of thousands in some cases in some all their savings.

Our savings are as safe as the next person in the present economic climate.

Had Capital Bank call today, they offered 10-11% on over 100,000tl. A little bit more than I am getting at the moment but not comfortable with a Cypriot bank TBH

Jonnie, if not a Cyprus bank, which bank do you use?

Papa-I think Jonnie is referring to a 'southern bank'

Use Turkish Banks such as HSBC, Garanti, TEB, Is Bank, or use Islamic Bank. IMO far safer than the upstarts such as Capital, Neo and some of the longer standing TC Banks. Higher interest generally means higher risk!

cyprusishome , i assume you are authorised to give such investment advice , i shoped around choose three banks , i did look at their asset base and last accounts and asked numerous financial questions , none of the banks were in your list of recommendations so maybe i should reconsider , i think not and i also would like to ask what makes you an expert and why should others take note of what you have posted ???

Do we now need authorisation to give an opinion on here.

Please do not let this thread turn into an argument about who is/is not qualified to give investment advice or which bank is/is not safe to invest with.

It is an individuals responsibility to carry out their own "due diligence" and decide for themselves wether or not to invest with a particular bank. Some people are more cautious, whereas others are more willing to take a higher risk. It is an individuals choice. If necessary then anyone wishing to invest can also look to take financial advice from a registered and authorised advisor.

Thank You

PapaBravo wrote:Jonnie, if not a Cyprus bank, which bank do you use?

I use a Turkish based bank. Personal choice really and also use Turkish based insurance companies. I feel more comfortable that if the poop hits the fan they will both be more secure.

poshin devon I would just like one "right to reply" in stating that in my posting I used the acronym IMO - IN MY OPINION. That is not advice and I can see no reason for the tirade fired in my direction by another poster.

Cyprusishome, not all of us are up on OMG, IMO (those are the only two I understand, yours is a new one!) etc. Keep seeing LOL on this forum, ??? Makes me really feel my age.

I appreciate all the replies on this thread, there is no compulsion to take the advice in any of them, but good to get lots of IMOs

I see HSBC put their interest rate up by 0.5% today. Every little helps and I suspect (IMO) that these higher rates will last quite a bit beyond the eventual rise in the value of the lira and the consequent reduction in exchange rate. Personally (IMO) I think they haven't finished going up yet so I am sticking to a 1 month account so I pick up the rises as the account recycles.

The real trick will be to guess when the rates start to fall and get my money into a 12 month account in time.

With all the talks about a settlement what will happen with the banks and money then,will it still be tl or euro or a new currency.
I have always been with cypriot banks but I think its time in my opinin to go for a turkish bank..
Anyway everything can change with the elections approaching.

I think in the event of a settlement it would almost certainly mean the euro even though I think (IMO) it would be a disaster for North Cyprus - as indeed would be joining the EU. It would be an even bigger disaster if that happened now with the exchange rate as it is. North Cyprus has no control over the value of the lira and Turkey would not help just to suit the timescale of re-unification - their own interests would predominate.

But if the North stays tied to Turkey then be sure that when (if) Turkey joined the EU they would manage the exchange rates in their (and our) favour before opting into the euro.

HSBC went up another 1/2 point today - it's now 10% on a 25 day (or longer) account.

JBA very interesting post
For information this week I was in consultation this week with one of the governments senators about personnel matters, but into the conversation I felt it was prudent to find his opinion on ongoing issues, mainly does he see the TRNC becoming part of the EU. His reply was very pragmatic, a firm yes and surprisingly within 12 months. I am sure that everyone is aware that the returns on the euro are far less than the current interest rates of the turkish lire, and I am sure the government must be aware of the potential implications arising from this. The only thing I suggest at the moment is watch this space and see what happens. I for one would look elsewhere if this where to be the case. When I say look elsewhere I do not mean a move of residence I mean a move of liquid assets.

I would assume that even if the North changed to the Euro that a TL account would still be possible with a TC bank, the downside would be if you had to change to Euro to withdraw your weekly/monthly living allowance then the current exchange rate as it is now would not be favourable to you.

chelwood wrote:JBA very interesting post
I am sure that everyone is aware that the returns on the euro are far less than the current interest rates of the turkish lire,

True chelwood if you're referring to the returns from interest paid on YTL deposits BUT not with regards to the depreciation suffered when compared to a basket of currencies. Earn 10 percent interest (9 percent after tax) per year on your YTL account and loose on the currency depreciating by 25 percent per year. Now I know that there has been a few good years where the Lira has outperformed the depreciation effect compared to the interest paid but that's history now and most forex economist would say cheap money from QE and Fed printing that was the source for enabling this growth is being wound down. We are approaching a very different landscape.