Moody’s on Tuesday cut the credit rating of 18 Turkish banks, the Diken news website reported.
State lenders such as Ziraat Bank, Halkbank and Vakıfbank along with private banks including Akbank, HSBC, ING, Garanti and İşbank were included in the decision, which downgraded ratings from B2 to caa2.
The move came a few days after it downgraded Turkey’s sovereign credit rating deeper into “junk” territory, citing the risks of a balance of payments crisis as well as a government default.
The agency had cut ratings for nine Turkish banks in September 2018.