# Turkey raises SME loan growth cap to 5%, eases reserve rules Author: Hatice Ertaş Language: English Published: 2026-10-02T18:39:37+03:00 Updated: 2026-10-02T18:39:37+03:00 ![A workshop owner inspecting a machined metal part, with a technician working in the background](https://kriptometa.com/uploads/tcmb-den-kobi-kredilerine-alan-buyume-siniri-e-cikti-565a63d088d4_article.webp) ## Key takeaways - The SME loan growth ceiling increased by 0.5 percentage points to 5%. - Blocked maintenance ratios for lira required reserves were cut; the release did not specify the new levels. - The October 1 decision concerns credit growth and liquidity; it announces no policy-rate change. Turkey’s central bank has adjusted two financing rules for banks and smaller businesses. The change expands room for SME lending and reduces the share of lira reserves that must remain blocked. Turkey’s central bank has raised the growth ceiling for loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from 4.5% to 5%. Announced on the evening of October 1, the adjustment gives banks an additional 0.5 percentage points of headroom under the SME lending rule. The same decision reduces the share of Turkish lira required reserves that must be held in blocked form. The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) addresses the changes in its [October 1 release (in Turkish)](https://www.tcmb.gov.tr/wps/wcm/connect/TR/TCMB+TR/Main+Menu/Duyurular/Basin/2026/DUY2026-43), covering SME financing and banks’ liquidity management. It does not announce direct payments to businesses or introduce a grant program. ## The 5% figure is a growth cap, not a borrowing rate For smaller businesses, the most immediate change is the additional room allowed for lending growth. The difference between the old and new ceilings is 50 basis points. The 5% figure is not the interest rate a company will pay on a bank loan; it is the threshold used in the banking-sector growth rule. **This is separate from a rate decision.** The release announces no change in the central bank’s policy rate. Raising the loan growth ceiling does not mean businesses’ borrowing costs will fall by the same amount. For a borrower, the adjustment changes one part of the financing framework. The outcome of an individual application, or the amount a bank will offer, cannot be inferred from this short announcement. The central bank gives no estimate of how many businesses will benefit or how much additional lending the change will generate. ## A smaller share of bank reserves will be blocked The second measure concerns how banks maintain lira required reserves. A lower blocked maintenance ratio reduces the portion that must remain unavailable for use. That is the liquidity-management element of the decision. The announcement does not say that all reserve requirement ratios applying to lira deposits have been reduced across the board. Under [the central bank’s reserve requirement framework](https://www.tcmb.gov.tr/wps/wcm/connect/TR/TCMB+TR/Main+Menu/Temel+Faaliyetler/Para+Politikasi/Zorunlu+Karsilik+Oranlari/), deposits and certain other bank liabilities are subject to reserve requirements. The bank explains that the reserve maintenance period lasts 14 days. The adjustment therefore concerns banks’ cash and reserve planning as well as the conditions surrounding new lending. > “To support macrofinancial stability and banks’ liquidity management” The purpose stated in the CBRT’s October 1 release, translated from Turkish. ## Details the announcement leaves open The release specifies the old and new SME growth ceilings, but it does not state the previous or revised blocked maintenance ratios. It also gives no total estimate of lira liquidity that could become available, or a breakdown by bank group. When assessing these [economic developments](https://kriptometa.com/en/news/economy), the disclosed 5% lending threshold should be kept separate from the liquidity effect that the statement does not quantify. Companies also face revised [FX conversion support rules](https://kriptometa.com/en/turkey-fx-conversion-support-october-10-percent-test) that took effect on October 1. That scheme concerns the conversion of export earnings into lira. Its eligibility conditions are separate from the SME loan growth ceiling. [The CBRT’s official October 1 announcement, in Turkish](https://x.com/Merkez_Bankasi/status/2105724674735063240)