Hi Gap,
at the moment 15 to 18 % in a YTL account, about 3% in other currencies. the Ytl is taxed at source at 18%. so the net interest is between 12 and 15%

Hi Chelsea Boy, thanks for your comments. If I understand things correctly the interest rate is unbelieveably more favourable than I would get in the UK. Do you know of any catches regarding transfering sterling to YTL? Also do you believe this rate to be fairly stable? Sorry to be so demanding - but it sounds too good to be true!

Thank you.

the rate used to be 22% when I came last year but they will steadily fall as their inflation and currency stabilise. Another good way for your capital to work is to buy an apartment and rent it out all year. Depending on size and location you can get from 400 ytl to 650 ytl per month. Also the property will rise in value.

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Be careful when investing in TL as if it crashes, as it did three years ago, your capital will halve overnight, bear in mind that 15 years ago one pound got you 5000TL and now buys 2.5 million. Also be warned that even the head of the Turkish bank is saying that the TL is overvalued. Its ok to have an amount in TL and then keep the rest in your UK investments as its far safer. Also research what happened to IMAR Bank etc- if you want to gamble go to a casino.

Hi Bryn, nice to be back? how was the expo?
I think you are right to be cautious but things are a little different now. Yes the YTl is a little but that is due to the weak dollar more than anything else. I think the IMF will "run" Turkey for a little while and things will stabilise

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you can buy government bonds which hold their value and pay 20%. For long term investment turkey is on the up and up. the present government has stablised the economy . Bank managers are able to negotiate interest rates in some cases depending on the ammount you are investing. property prices are going through the roof . there is a fast growing expat population in all the popular resrts. i live in Alanya soon to be renamed dublin... its a great place...the irish are outnumbering our german friends...but watch out for the poles and the russians.

Got back last night very tired but had an excellant expo- Agree things are a bit better now but I would not put too much money out here- what I do is keep a UK investment protfolio and then have some here in TL for me about 20 K max -depends on how much you are prepared to risk and how much total capital you have to invest- dont forget that if you are getting 4% in the UK and the TL drops by say 8% over the year then you are going to match what you are getting via a Turkish bank account and historically for 30 years the TL has fallen. I know it hasnt for last two years but I suspect it will adjust downwards soon, best to get advice from various sources on this and take a balanced decision.