Author Topic: The Trauma of Changing Lira Back to Pounds  (Read 10757 times)

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Offline Colwyn

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Re: The Trauma of Changing Lira Back to Pounds
« Reply #20 on: March 10, 2015, 12:10:34 PM »
Gold has always been the preferred saving method in Turkey
I knew this in a general sort of way but $300billion-worth is a huge amount of gold. Rather a lot for shoeboxes under the bed!



Offline JohnF

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Re: The Trauma of Changing Lira Back to Pounds
« Reply #21 on: March 10, 2015, 13:02:10 PM »
I was looking for information on whether Turkish people hold their money in lira, or in dollars and euros.

A recent estimate on where Turks keep their money put it at 64% in hard currencies.  From experience, I suspect that is a conservative estimate even though it was made in Dec 2014 on the back of another fall in the lira.  Of course everyone has a lira account, but most folks have a USD or EUR to back it up - those of a certain generation will also have harsh memories of devaluation and the rampant inflation of a few years ago. 


I knew this in a general sort of way but $300billion-worth is a huge amount of gold. Rather a lot for shoeboxes under the bed!

Keeping a wedge in gold is common in many countries, especially in Asia.  A quick wander round the gold section of the Kapalı Çarşı will let you see how much weight (no pun intended) the Turks place on gold.  The most recent estimate I seen was that folks were holding approximately 48 tonne of gold, about $168 billion at todays prices.

I know both figures sound a lot, but when you factor in the traditional element of keeping gold and the population of Turkey (80m or so) it only works out at a couple of thousand dollars worth per head - if I've done my arithmetic correctly!

JF

Offline Rana

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Re: The Trauma of Changing Lira Back to Pounds
« Reply #22 on: March 10, 2015, 14:09:35 PM »
When I got married in Turkey to my Turkish husband I thought it strange that all guests were handing out gold bracelets etc. This is normal there and of more value to the new couple as opposed to buying them a toaster or kettle etc  :)

Offline Colwyn

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Re: The Trauma of Changing Lira Back to Pounds
« Reply #23 on: March 10, 2015, 14:21:14 PM »
JohnF,  know you have frequently posted along the lines of "Why do expats want to hold their savings in lira accounts when Turks don't do that?". I believe you to be right about this  but wanted some statistical measure of how important it is to the economy. Similarly, I don't question your arithmetic on gold holding per head but I would suggest a different measure. If we assume children aren't the actual holders of gold, and nor - in many parts of the country - will women hold the wealth, I think a gold per household measure is more appropriate. There are about 20 million households in Turkey. So $300, 000 divided by 20 million = (I hope) $15,000 of gold per household on average. That does strike me as a really substantial wedge spread across the population.

Offline JohnF

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Re: The Trauma of Changing Lira Back to Pounds
« Reply #24 on: March 10, 2015, 14:43:23 PM »
You're probably right Colwyn, I didn't give it a great amount of thought.

However, the only fact both of our posts prove is that we are unlikely to be members (if we were eligible of course) of the AKP as neither of us is confident when dealing with numbers with lots of zeros at the end.  I mean, how could we make sure our baksis was correct?

JF

Offline Colwyn

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Re: The Trauma of Changing Lira Back to Pounds
« Reply #25 on: March 10, 2015, 15:12:51 PM »
It is a pity about AKP; seems a lucrative career choice. But, accepting the numbers cited, we have a picture of the "average" Turkish family holding $15k of savings in gold and, of the cash, 2/3rds in foreigner currency. Not much interest in lira saving accounts.

Offline JohnF

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Re: The Trauma of Changing Lira Back to Pounds
« Reply #26 on: March 10, 2015, 15:20:17 PM »
I also suspect that there'll be an east/west split in relation to finance (not dissimilar to the literacy split).  Those in the east are more likely to keep savings in gold and lira whereas those in the west more likely to keep there savings in hard currency and gold. 

No facts to back it up, just my feeling.  Unlikely to be breakdown held anywhere, or at least anywhere my Turkish can read!

JF

Offline kevin3

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Re: The Trauma of Changing Lira Back to Pounds
« Reply #27 on: March 10, 2015, 15:30:33 PM »
Turkish families I am on close terms with buy gold, unsure of the amount, on an almost weekly basis.

I would imagine there are some lumpy mattresses in Turkey.




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