Turkish President Erdogan appointed three new deputy governors to the central bank in Istanbul, as stated in the country’s official gazette. The newly appointed officials are Osman Cevdet Akcay, Fatih Karahan, and Hatice Karahan, replacing their predecessors.
Fatih Karahan, who previously held economist positions in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and worked for Amazon, is among the new appointees. Akcay, an economist with experience in Turkish lender Yapi Kredi, and Hatice Karahan, an academic and chief economic adviser to the president, complete the trio.
The appointments come after the central bank, under the leadership of Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan, adopted a policy of gradual monetary tightening and increased its end-2023 inflation forecast. Despite the tightening measures, the Turkish lira has experienced a significant loss in value this year.
Economists expect the policy rate to rise further to 25 per cent by the end of the year, but concerns remain due to Erdogan’s influence over the central bank’s policies.
In addition to the new appointments, Erdogan also removed the previous deputy governors Emrah Sener, Taha Cakmak, and Mustafa Duman, according to the statement on Friday.