The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has signed a bank-to-bank loan agreement for the equivalent of ¥3.7bn yen with Turk Ekonomi Bankasi (TEB), a leading private commercial bank in Turkey. The loan, which is denominated in three currencies, is co-financed with Mizuho Corporate Bank.

Proceeds of the loan, which consists of ¥1bn, US$10mn and €10mn, will enable Turkish companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, to import machinery and equipment from Japanese exporters. TEB is the fourth Turkish bank with which JBIC has set up an export credit line in recent years.

Agreements were signed with Isbank in July 2004 and with Finansbank and Denizbank in February and March 2006. The aggregate total for the four banks, including portions financed by co-financing private commercial banks, will exceed ¥25bn.

Turkey has seen steady economic growth, structural reform of the financial sector and an increase in trade volume since the economic crisis of 2000 and 2001 and is attracting international attention as a growth economy.