Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye eases reserve requirement rules and lifts SME loan growth limit

1 October 2026

The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye announced changes in its reserve requirement practice to support macrofinancial stability and bank liquidity management.
The eight-week growth limit for SME loans went up from 4.5% to 5%, and the ratios for TRY required reserves held in blocked accounts were reduced.
The step was issued as a Press Release on Macroprudential Framework, separate from the interest rate decisions of the bank.
Reserve requirements are the share of deposits and liabilities that banks must park with the central bank, and they work as a quantity tool rather than a price tool.
By tying growth limits to categories of credit, the bank steers lending towards small and medium enterprises while holding back faster-growing segments.
The measures sit alongside the policy rate in the toolkit the bank uses to steer credit conditions.