Erdal Saglam: $1.5 bln left Turkish markets Friday

They also noted that they had thought that the foreign currency exiting Turkish markets on that day might go as high as 2 billion dollars. And now the banking industry, at the start of the new week, is looking ahead with nervousness to the markets.

Some bankers said Ben Bernanke's, head of the US Federal Reserve, words had made them nervous. Bernanke, speaking last week, commented on the possibility of "smaller banks going under." These comments reflected onto the Turkish markets, and on Friday, for the first time ever, this much foreign currency exited from the market at one time.

Friday in the US, the stock market also closed down, and bankers are worried that a similar week might lie ahead. Bankers are saying that with all the questions about small banks possibly going under, the week ahead will be a critical one. One banker, noting that Turkey's most sensitive economic arena is still its current account deficit, said "Our fear is that the current account deficit will begin to be a big problem in addition to the exit of these foreign funds from our markets."

In the meantime, the same banker did note that recent fluctuations in Turkey such as the turban debates and the land operation into Northern Iraq have not affected Turkish money markets as much as they might have, due to the general downward turns globally, and the fact that "all eyes are looking out from Turkey right now."

What's more, while eyes are focused on the state of small banks in the US, there is also attention being paid to Europe, with some expectation that the European Central Bank may decide not to cut interest rates due to Bernanke's recent statements as well as the latest developments in exchange rates. This same banker reminded us that stagnancy and growth in the US usually affected Europe six months later, and that now it was the turn of Europe to react. Another banker noted that the inflow of foreign investment capital into Turkey had stopped for the time being, with investors waiting for the global situation to become clearer.

In the meantime, while 40 percent of the 1 billion dollars worth of euro-bonds from the Turkish Treasury was sold to national banks in Turkey, another 30 percent were sold to investors in the US, while 30 percent were sold to European investors.

Noting a serious drop in direct foreign capital income into Turkey, the same banker asserted that while some sales and privatization efforts may appear to be carried out with foreign capital, that it is in fact local banks which are financing these events. In short, the same banker, noting that we have begun to use our own foreign currencies, said: "So, when the funding shortages begin, we will not be that comforted by the foreign currencies we have been saving up."