Besides Turkey, it seems many in that area of the world and Southeast Asia are into gold. I think their jewelry is 18K, where over here it is 14K.
Why Turks are skipping banks and keeping their gold at home
Gold jewelry that adorns the arms and necks of many Turkish women is actually a traditional instrument of savings. Newlyweds put together their initial capital with gold coins, trinkets and jewelry pinned on them at weddings. But this gold, once hidden at home, has absolutely no benefit to the economy.
Summary⎙ Print Turkish banks hope to retrieve 5,000 tons of gold that Turkish citizens have accumulated since World War I, and return it to the economy.
Author Mehmet CetingulecPosted March 14, 2016
TranslatorTimur Göksel
These gold hoards are estimated to have reached 5,000 tons. The value of gold has been on an upward trend: On March 14, it reached 3,582.85 Turkish lira ($1,249.22) per ounce. That means the under-the-mattress overall value of gold is now almost 580 billion Turkish lira ($201 billion).
The Istanbul Gold Refinery (IAR) has been striving for five years in cooperation with banks to draw this gold back into the economy. In a project involving 11 banks, IAR experts inspect and assess the gold brought in by bank clients. When the amount is logged into the clients' accounts, the physical gold becomes registered gold.
IAR explains the benefit of the system: “Gold will be safe. There will be no risk of theft or loss. The state guarantee for the gold deposit accounts is 150,000 Turkish lira. They are available 24 hours [a day] for transactions. Clients can cash any amount they want from their gold accounts.”
Read more:
Why Turks are skipping banks and keeping their gold at home - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
Why Turks are skipping banks and keeping their gold at home
Gold jewelry that adorns the arms and necks of many Turkish women is actually a traditional instrument of savings. Newlyweds put together their initial capital with gold coins, trinkets and jewelry pinned on them at weddings. But this gold, once hidden at home, has absolutely no benefit to the economy.
Summary⎙ Print Turkish banks hope to retrieve 5,000 tons of gold that Turkish citizens have accumulated since World War I, and return it to the economy.
Author Mehmet CetingulecPosted March 14, 2016
TranslatorTimur Göksel
These gold hoards are estimated to have reached 5,000 tons. The value of gold has been on an upward trend: On March 14, it reached 3,582.85 Turkish lira ($1,249.22) per ounce. That means the under-the-mattress overall value of gold is now almost 580 billion Turkish lira ($201 billion).
The Istanbul Gold Refinery (IAR) has been striving for five years in cooperation with banks to draw this gold back into the economy. In a project involving 11 banks, IAR experts inspect and assess the gold brought in by bank clients. When the amount is logged into the clients' accounts, the physical gold becomes registered gold.
IAR explains the benefit of the system: “Gold will be safe. There will be no risk of theft or loss. The state guarantee for the gold deposit accounts is 150,000 Turkish lira. They are available 24 hours [a day] for transactions. Clients can cash any amount they want from their gold accounts.”
Read more:
Why Turks are skipping banks and keeping their gold at home - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
