Gold deposits surge: The city with the highest gold holdings revealed

Banking data indicated a remarkable change in deposit composition during the first quarter of the year. According to the FIN-TURK statistics compiled by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) as of the end of March, total deposits of domestic residents increased by 3.6% in three months, reaching 26 trillion 478.5 billion liras with a rise of 928.6 billion liras.

DISTRIBUTION OF DEPOSITS: TL LIMITED, FOREIGN CURRENCY AND GOLD STAND OUT

While 16 trillion 165 billion liras of total deposits consisted of TL-denominated accounts, 10 trillion 313.5 billion liras were concentrated in foreign currency deposit accounts (FX accounts). Of the foreign currency accounts, 4 trillion 136.4 billion liras consisted of gold deposits, while 6 trillion 177.1 billion liras consisted of dollars, euros, and other foreign currencies.

In the first quarter, the volume of TL deposits showed a limited increase of 0.6%, rising by 97.8 billion liras. During the same period, a strong growth of 21.5% was recorded in gold accounts, and the volume increased by 733.2 billion liras. Other foreign currency accounts rose by 97.7 billion liras with a 1.6% increase. Thus, total foreign currency deposits grew by 8.8% in TL terms.

THE WEIGHT OF LARGE CITIES IN GOLD DEPOSITS

When examined by province, the highest volume of gold deposits was concentrated in the three major cities. Istanbul accounted for 35.5% of the total with 1 trillion 467.2 billion liras in gold deposits. There were 475.4 billion liras in gold deposits in Ankara and 245.7 billion liras in Izmir. The share of these three provinces in the total reached 52.9%.

These cities were followed by Antalya, Bursa, and Kocaeli, respectively. Konya, Adana, Mersin, and Mugla were also among the top ten provinces with the highest gold deposits. The total gold deposits in the top 10 provinces reached 2 trillion 836.3 billion liras, accounting for 68.6% of the country's total.

RIZE TOPS THE LIST IN THE SHARE OF GOLD WITHIN DEPOSITS

When looking at the share of gold within total deposits, Rize ranked first. Of the 55.6 billion liras in deposits in the city, 23.4 billion liras consisted of gold accounts, and the ratio rose to 42.2%. Rize was followed by Malatya and Cankiri with 36.5%.

Kirikkale, Elazig, Kutahya, Bingol, Artvin, Bayburt, and Karabuk were also among the provinces where gold has a high share in deposits. In contrast, although Istanbul has the highest volume, it remained at the bottom of the list with 12% in terms of the share of gold within total deposits. Ankara was also among the provinces with a low ratio at 12.4%.

PROVINCES WITH A LOW SHARE OF GOLD

Gaziantep, Tunceli, and Hatay stood out among the provinces where the share of gold deposits in the total is the lowest. Antalya, Sirnak, Adana, and Izmir were also listed among the provinces with low ratios.

THE PICTURE CHANGED IN REAL TERMS

According to inflation-adjusted data, the volume of TL deposits contracted by 8.6% in the first three months, while a 7.7% decline was observed in other foreign currency accounts. In contrast, gold accounts grew by 10.5% in real terms.

When viewed on an annual basis, while TL deposits increased by 27.2% nominally, a 132.3% rise was recorded in gold accounts and an 18.2% rise in other foreign currency deposits. When annual inflation is taken into account, while TL deposits fell by 2.8% and foreign currency deposits by 9.7% in real terms, a remarkable real increase of 77.5% occurred in gold accounts.

While the share of gold deposits in total deposits was at the 9% level last year, it rose to 13.3% by the end of 2025 and to 15.6% as of March 2026.

News Source: 12punto