Turkish lira in tailspin as Erdogan spooks investors (Al-Monitor, May 25, 2018)
With snap presidential and parliamentary polls only a month away, Turkey is grappling with currency…
Turkey’s Central Bank has seen its credibility wane both at home and abroad after coming under full government control as a result of a series of moves by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the past two years. The bank could hardly be described as autonomous, independent or even relatively independent any longer. Erdogan himself makes no secret of the bank’s descent into obedience, asserting publicly that its former governor was sacked because he refused to heed his demands.
The Central Bank management is now doing what the government wants — not only in terms of monetary policy, but also by intervening in the foreign exchange market, something it is supposed to never do.