6 Min Read
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey’s fourth central bank chief in less than two years will oversee his first policy decision on Thursday, after President Tayyip Erdogan rocked financial markets by firing a well-respected governor who had hiked rates just last month.
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gives a statement after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Turkey, March 29, 2021. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/PPO/Handout via REUTERS
Erdogan replaced Naci Agbal, a policy hawk, with Sahap Kavcioglu, who has openly criticised Turkey’s tight monetary stance and who shares the president’s unorthodox view that high interest rates cause inflation.
The shock decision on March 20 raised expectations that the policy rate, now at 19%, would soon be cut and sent investors fleeing, knocking the lira 12% lower. For many analysts, Erdogan’s latest intervention has left the bank’s credibility in tatters.