Decline in Trust in Financial Services

The Financial Services Confidence Index decreased by 0.7 points in February compared to the previous month, reaching 170.3 levels. The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) released the Financial Services Statistics and Financial Services Confidence Index (FHGE) for February. According to the survey results obtained by weighting and aggregating the responses of 148 institutions operating in the financial sector, FHGE decreased by 0.7 points in March compared to the previous month, reaching 170.3 levels. When the diffusion indices of the survey questions that make up the index were examined, it was observed that the business situation and demand for services in the last 3 months positively affected FHGE, while the expectations of an increase in demand for services in the next 3 months had a negative impact on FHGE. Evaluations regarding business conditions and demand for services indicated a reinforcement of the positive assessments of an improvement in business conditions in the last 3 months compared to the previous month. It was also noted that there was a slight strengthening of the positive assessments of an increase in demand for services in the last 3 months, while expectations of an increase in demand for services in the next 3 months weakened. In terms of employment evaluations, the trend towards those reporting an increase in employment in the last 3 months strengthened, while the trend towards those expecting an increase in employment in the next 3 months weakened. In March 2025, when confidence indices in the “Financial and Insurance Activities” sector were evaluated by sub-sectors according to NACE Rev.2 sector classification, a decrease of 0.8 and 20.1 points was observed in the sectors of “64-Financial Service Activities (excluding insurance and pension funds)” and “66-Support Activities for Financial Services and Insurance Activities,” respectively, compared to the previous month. On the other hand, there was an increase of 1.5 points in the “65-Insurance, Reinsurance, and Pension Funds (excluding mandatory social security services)” sector.