ANKARA - (July 14, 2003) Earlier today at OYAK headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey W. Robert Pearson, on behalf of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), and Coskun Ulusoy, CEO of OYAK, signed a $256,918 grant agreement for the first phase of a feasibility study on developing a mortgage lending program in Turkey. Fannie Mae will conduct the study.

OYAK, Turkey's largest private pension group, has been working on developing a mortgage lending system for its membership and eventually all of Turkey. The project is envisioned to occur in parallel with an OYAK housing and town development project. Under the housing development project, OYAK will construct light-gauge steel frame housing units in Ankara and Istanbul.

The proposed mortgage-lending program would enable more people to buy houses with lower interest rates and longer-term loans than are currently available in Turkey. In turn, this will increase the demand for housing construction and building materials, which will help to employ more people and increase business for construction material providers.

The project also has the potential to provide up to $26 million in U.S. services for loan and securities administration over a five-year period. Information technology services and equipment needed to manage these programs, as well as specialized construction components such as steel or wood frames, and insulation materials are also potential U.S. exports.

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency advances economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries. The agency funds various forms of technical assistance, feasibility studies, training, orientation visits and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment. USTDA's strategic use of foreign assistance funds to support sound investment policy and decision-making in host countries creates an enabling environment for trade, investment and sustainable economic development. In carrying out its mission, USTDA gives emphasis to economic sectors that may benefit from U.S. exports of goods and services.

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