Central bank governor in Turkey removed as lira routed
08 November, 2020
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan removed central bank Governor Murat Uysal amid a rout in the lira.
Mr Erdogan named former Finance Minister Naci Agbal the new head of Turkey’s monetary authority, according to a presidential decree published in the state Gazette on Saturday.
The removal followed weeks of declines in the currency, which weakened to an archive low of 8.5793 to the dollar on Friday.
The lira dropped more than 30 per cent this season to become the worst-performing emerging market currency tracked by Bloomberg.
Mr Uysal, who was appointed in July 2019 after his predecessor was fired for defying the president’s demands looser monetary policy, have been raising borrowing costs through a blend of rate increases and back-door measures since August.
But that approach didn't provide enough of a support for the currency or even to rein in inflation, which is hovering at double digits, compared to the official target of 5 %.
Mr Agbal, who was simply finance minister in past governments under Mr Erdogan, have been serving as head of the Presidency Budget and Strategy Office since 2018.
Source: www.thenationalnews.com