Erdogan fires deputy governor of Turkey’s central bank


Turkey’s president has sacked one of the deputy governors of the country’s central bank, the third senior official to be fired in two months in a series of interventions at the nominally independent institution that have unnerved investors.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a decree in the Official Gazette in the early hours of Tuesday dismissing Oguzhan Ozbas, a member of the monetary policy committee, and replacing him with Semih Tumen, a professor of economics at TED University in Ankara.

In March, Erdogan fired Naci Agbal, the third central bank governor in less than two years. Agbal was replaced by Sahap Kavcioglu, a newspaper columnist who shares Erdogan’s unconventional view that high interest rates drive, rather than quell, inflation. A week later, Erdogan replaced deputy governor Murat Cetinkaya.

The lira has lost 14 per cent of its value against the dollar since March amid fears the bank under Kavcioglu will be unable to defy Erdogan to keep monetary policy tight to fight inflation, which has been stuck in double digits for much of the past three years.

Erdogan has said both interest rates and inflation will be below 10 per cent this year. He has long badgered the central bank to suppress borrowing rates to stimulate the economy.

The central bank holds its next rate-setting meeting on June 17. Kavcioglu has pledged to keep policy tight until inflation slows but has removed some of his predecessor’s hawkish language from policy statements.

Tumen, 44, has graduate degrees from the London School of Economics and the University of Chicago. He previously worked at the central bank in various roles and as a human resources adviser to Erdogan.

Just three of the seven members of the monetary policy committee have served as policymakers for three or more years, with the rest appointed since the start of 2020.



Source link

Latest

Elizabeth Chambers still hasn’t told her two children about new boyfriend Ricardas Kazinec

Elizabeth Chambers reveals she still hasn't told her two children about...

Taking a domestic flight soon? Here’s how Centre’s order of lesser flights, changed ticket prices could impact you

As per the report, while February 28 saw about 3.13 lakh domestic passengers travelling across the country, by May 25, this number had...

Cruz Beckham plays the piano in social media clip as he follows in mother Victoria’s footsteps

Cruz Beckham shows off his music skills by playing the piano...

Maximize Workplace Productivity with MDM

The major hurdles that businesses across the globe are facing today include up keeping workplace productivity, employee engagement and remote workforce management.