CBRT Reports Decline in Financial Services Confidence Index
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) has published the Financial Services Statistics and the Financial Services Confidence Index (FHGE) for December. According to the report, the index decreased by 4.1 points compared to the previous month, reaching a level of 169.5.
The results obtained by weighting the responses of 148 financial institutions participating in the survey indicate that the main factors contributing to the decline of the FHGE were the observed weakening in the business situation and demand for services over the past three months. However, the increase in expectations for future demand for services provided an upward impact on the index. It was noted that particularly in the last three months, the increase in the business situation and demand was lower than expected, which led to a slight decrease in confidence in the financial sector.
Weakening in business situation and service demand According to the assessments of the financial institutions participating in the survey, the proportion of those indicating an improvement in the business situation over the last three months decreased compared to the previous month. Additionally, a weakening was also noted in the views regarding the increase in demand for services. However, expectations for an increase in demand for services in the next three months remained strong. This indicates that hopes for the future in the sector are preserved, but a cautious stance is being adopted under the current conditions.
Despite the weakening of the business environment and demand for financial services in the last three months, sector representatives believe that this trend will reverse in the future. In this context, the evaluations regarding future expectations reveal that financial institutions have not completely lost hope for the future, but are waiting to have a clearer view.
Employment expectations have increased A different picture emerged in the evaluations regarding employment. Although the proportion of those reporting an increase in employment over the last three months decreased, the number of those expecting an increase in employment in the next three months showed an increase. This indicates that there may be a rising demand for new labor in the financial sector in the near term. The participating institutions view the current stagnation in employment growth as a temporary situation that will be compensated in the upcoming period.
The increase in employment expectations for the upcoming three-month period signals the potential for new positions to be created in the financial services sector. In this context, developments in employment in the coming period also bring hope that a period of reduced uncertainties may be approached.