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Interest Rates in Türkiye in 2026: Comparing Funding Costs, Loan Rates and Deposit Rates
Why does a policy rate change differ from the change in a bank's offer?A business owner may read that interest rates in Türkiye have been cut, then find that the cost of their financing has fallen by less, or has yet to fall. A depositor may see an offer above or below the figure making the headlines. Understanding these differences requires checking which rate was measured, its maturity, the type of customer and the timing. Comparing figures simply because they all contain the words “interest rate” is not enough.
This guide reviews official resources available on 8 October 2026. It does not present current market rates or recommend a loan or deposit. All numerical examples below are hypothetical. Its purpose is to help you follow the relationship between a policy decision, the cost of central bank funding, statistical averages for banking transactions and the actual offer made to a customer. Use it to understand reports and ask more precise questions before assessing a financial contract.
Four different levels of interest ratesThe first is the policy rate announced in a central bank decision. The second is the actual cost of the central bank's funding operations with banks, measured according to the relevant series definition. The third is the average loan or deposit rate reported in the statistics. The fourth is the contract offered by a particular institution to a particular customer. These levels can influence one another without being identical on every date.
Create four separate entries in your monitoring notes: the decision and its effective date; the name of the funding-cost series; the type and reference date of the loan or deposit average; and the terms of the individual offer. Do not fill one entry with information drawn from a source describing another. Leave an item unresolved if you lack the necessary information. This simple step exposes comparisons that appear precise but use one customer's contract rate to represent an entire sector.
What does a weighted average funding cost show?A weighted average funding cost takes account of the amount and rate of each operation. It is not a simple arithmetic average of the published rates. An analysis on the central bank's blog discusses the role of liquidity costs and banks' expectations in interest rate transmission. The blog also states that its authors' views do not necessarily represent the central bank's official position.
For practice, suppose funding of 100 units is provided at 20% and another 300 units at 40%. The weighted average is 35%. The simple average of the two rates, 30%, does not describe the cost of this funding mix. Multiply each amount by its rate, add the results and divide by the total amount. Check the period of each operation as well: combining different days can create the appearance of a change that did not occur on the day being discussed.
The Istanbul Financial Center in an archive photograph from September 2023.
Why do bank rates differ from the cost of central bank funding?Loan pricing can reflect a bank's funding sources, the loan's maturity, default risk, collateral, operating costs, regulation and competition. Deposit pricing may reflect the bank's need for stable funding, the customer's size, the maturity and the currency. An offer being above or below the policy rate does not, by itself, establish that it breaches an interest rate decision.
Consider a short loan backed by collateral and a longer loan with insufficient security. Even with a similar current funding cost, their risks over time differ. Present possible pricing factors as explanations that need evidence in the specific case. Do not attribute a particular difference to profit or default risk without supporting detail. Aggregate data help you follow a trend, but they do not reveal the components of every contract's price.
New business differs from the stock of existing contractsThe central bank publishes weekly interest rate statistics for flows and monthly statistics for stocks. Choose the concept that fits your question. To follow the pricing of recent business, use a series measuring flows according to its definition. To describe existing contracts, do not substitute one week's transactions for the outstanding stock.
The methodology for weekly weighted average loan rates explains that coverage includes new business and renewals meeting the stated definition, with account rates entering a weighted average. An older portfolio can retain earlier rates while rates on new business change, so the two averages may move at different speeds. In a hypothetical example, 90 existing units at 20% and 10 new units at 40% produce an overall weighted rate of 22%, even though the new business is priced at 40%. This is not necessarily a contradiction between two sources.
Product, maturity, currency and coverageBefore comparing rates, establish whether the series covers commercial, housing or personal loans and whether particular products are included or excluded. Some loan series explicitly distinguish between rates including and excluding overdraft accounts; the results can differ accordingly. Also check the currency. A lira loan rate cannot be compared directly with a dollar loan rate without explaining the different risks and terms.
For deposits, open the metadata for weekly deposit interest rates and check the maturity bands and coverage. Do not compare a short deposit with an average for long maturities and describe the difference as a general market shift. An offer for a new customer may also differ from a renewal offer. Readers need the full product description in the report, rather than the word “interest” alone.
Monthly, annual, simple and effective ratesA contract may quote a monthly rate while the statistics use an effective annual rate. Converting between them requires knowing how returns compound, how often interest is capitalised or how cash flows are calculated. Multiplying a monthly rate by 12 may give a nominal annual rate, but it does not always give the effective rate. Read the definitions in both the source and the contract before comparing them.
In a simple teaching example, a monthly rate of 2%, compounded monthly, gives an effective annual rate of about 26.8%: calculate 1.02 raised to the power of 12, then subtract 1. This does not calculate the full cost of an amortising loan, including fees and taxes. Where instalments are involved, use the disbursement and repayment cash flows and their dates. Do not apply a fixed-principal compounding formula to a principal balance that changes during the year.
A weighted average is not the offer everyone receivesSuppose two transactions are made: 1,000 units at 30% and 9,000 units at 40%. Their weighted average is 39%. This does not mean that any customer actually received a rate of 39%. The average describes the transactions using their respective weights. It can move when the shares of products or customer groups change, even if each group's rate stays the same.
Imagine that, the following week, the larger transaction belongs to the lower-rate group. The overall average falls because the mix has changed. You cannot conclude that all banks cut rates for all customers. Look for comparable averages by maturity and product, then describe the movement in the measured average. Establishing a particular pricing change requires offers or comparable data for the same group on both dates.
Skyland towers in Istanbul's Seyrantepe area in an archive photograph from May 2024.
Percentage points and basis pointsIf a hypothetical rate falls from 40% to 38%, it declines by 2 percentage points, or 200 basis points. The decline relative to the original rate is 5%. These three statements describe the same movement in different ways; their units are not interchangeable. Saying only that “interest fell by 2%” can leave readers unsure whether the figure means percentage points or a relative change.
In a news report, state the old rate, the new rate and the change in percentage points or basis points. If a relative percentage change is useful, calculate it and label it clearly. Do not add together basis-point movements in several rates to construct a new rate without weights or a definition. If series have different frequencies, align the comparison dates before calculating a gap, so a timing difference is not presented as a pricing difference.
A quick comparison guide| Level | What does it represent? | What should you record with it? |
|---|---|---|
| Policy rate | The rate announced in a central bank decision | The decision and its effective date |
| Funding cost | The cost of central bank funding operations with banks | The cost series and its period |
| Average loan or deposit rate | Transactions within the statistical coverage | The product, maturity and reference date |
| Individual offer | One bank's terms for a particular customer | The contract, fees and repayment schedule |
Comparing movements in three indicatorsSuppose a hypothetical decision cuts the policy rate from 40% to 38%. In the corresponding week, the weighted funding cost falls from 42% to 39%, while the average commercial loan rate falls from 50% to 49%. The respective declines are 200, 300 and 100 basis points. A report should describe these different movements without assuming that one indicator stands for another.
First check the decision's timing against the reporting days. A weekly average may include transactions made both before and after the decision, and some offers may begin pricing in expectations beforehand. Measuring transmission from a single week can therefore mix timing effects with other changes. Follow a window before and after the event, keeping definitions consistent, and present the result as a descriptive comparison unless you have conducted a causal analysis.
In this example, the gap between the loan rate and the funding cost is 8 percentage points before the change and 10 afterwards. That is a difference between two indicators, not the bank's net profit or accounting margin. Central bank funding does not necessarily supply all the money used for the loan, and lending involves other costs and risks. Naming the gap accurately prevents a calculation from being given a meaning the data do not support.
Assessing a bank offer without generalising from itCollect the amount disbursed to the customer, the instalment schedule, fees, any insurance conditions, taxes or deductions, and early repayment and renewal terms. For a deposit, record the maturity, currency, whether the advertised return is before or after deductions, and whether it requires an additional balance or another product. Do not compare a headline rate with an all-in cost.
If the question is a comparison of offers, retain two written offers for the same period and equivalent terms. Official statistics can help place an offer in the context of market trends, but an offer is not automatically incorrect because it differs from the average. The contract's characteristics may explain the difference or require clarification from the bank. A precise question about a cost item is more useful than a broad accusation that leaves the calculation unexplained.
Weekly monitoring and a monthly reviewSave the series name, code, unit, reference date and download date. Then record the policy rate, the weighted funding cost and your selected banking product. Keep calculations separate from the original data. Do not add weekly interest rates to obtain a monthly rate, or present an unweighted average as though it were the official weighted figure.
Review the methodology for monthly deposit rates on outstanding stocks when comparing new business with existing balances. The comparison can help you understand how quickly a portfolio reprices, provided you explain the different concepts. Add a column for events and definition changes, and examine several comparable periods. Do not replace holidays or unavailable observations with zeros: doing so creates a false decline in a chart.
Common mistakes and an editing checklistFrequent mistakes include comparing a monthly loan rate with an effective annual average, averaging rates without their weights, and describing a statistical average as the rate imposed on every bank. Others include treating a rate gap as profit, using a new-business rate to describe the outstanding stock, and attributing a change directly to a decision without checking the timing. Keep each indicator's definition beside you before writing the headline.
Write a short paragraph stating the rate type, period, unit and change. Follow it with an explanation that distinguishes what the source establishes from your interpretation of possible factors. End with the next question to monitor: did the same product's trend continue, did rates on outstanding balances move later, or did the changes differ by maturity? This makes the report useful for future updates and keeps confidence in its conclusions proportionate to the evidence.
Frequently asked questionsIs the policy rate the rate on an individual's loan?
It is a monetary policy indicator, rather than every customer's contractual rate. A loan's product, maturity, risks, fees and terms require their own assessment.
Does a lower funding cost require an immediate, equal fall in bank rates?
Two figures alone cannot establish that. Examine pricing transmission, timing, the mix of transactions and product-specific factors, then follow several periods.
Should I always multiply a monthly rate by 12?
First distinguish nominal and effective rates and establish how instalments are calculated. Multiplication alone does not capture every loan cash flow or compounded return.
Does the deposit average include the offer in my advertisement?
The average describes transactions within its statistical coverage. It does not confirm the terms or deductions of a particular offer; examine the contract itself.
Why did the average change while some offers stayed the same?
Transaction weights, maturities and customer groups can change. A fall in the average does not prove that the rate for every group fell.
Does 100 basis points mean one percent?
It means 1 percentage point in an interest rate. A relative percentage change depends on the starting rate and is a different calculation.
Is the gap between a loan rate and a funding cost the bank's profit margin?
It is a difference between two indicators. Accounting profitability requires information about funding sources, expenses, provisions and other items.
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