Erdoğan fires three Central Bank policymakers in midnight decree

Duvar English

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan dismissed deputy Central Bank governors Semih Tümen, Uğur Namık Küçük and Central Bank monetary policy committee (MPC) member Abdullah Yavaş early on Oct. 14, appointing new members in their place, according to the country's Official Gazette.

Erdoğan appointed Taha Çakmak as a deputy Central Bank governor and Yusuf Tuna as a MPC member. 

Earlier, the presidency had announced that Erdoğan met with Central Bank Govenor Şahap Kavcıoğlu at the Çankaya Mansion in the capital Ankara.

The details of the meeting were not released.

The meeting and the overhaul of the Central Bank management come following a recent report by Reuters that Erdoğan is losing confidence in Kavcıoğlu, less than seven months after he sacked his predecessor.

Three sources, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters that the two have communicated little in recent weeks. They said Erdoğan was frustrated that an interest rate cut was delayed until just last month. It was unclear what Erdoğan might do if anything, they said.

The president has abruptly fired three bank governors in the last two and a half years over policy disagreements, roiling the lira and badly harming the credibility and predictability of monetary policy.

Analysts said last month's surprise rate cut was further evidence of political interference given Erdoğan, a self-described enemy of interest rates, had long sought stimulus despite high inflation. The lira hit record lows in response.

Erdoğan has not publicly addressed the rate cut, and the bank has declined to comment on allegations of political interference in its monetary policy.