Erdoğan replaces central bank deputy governor by midnight decree

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has fired Deputy Central Bank Governor Murat Çetinkaya in an overnight decree on March 30. Mustafa Duman has been appointed as the new deputy central bank governor, the decree published in the Official Gazette said.

Tuesday March 30 2021 12:43 am

Duvar English

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has fired Deputy Central Bank Governor Murat Çetinkaya in a decree published in the Official Gazette early on March 30.

Çetinkaya was replaced by Mustafa Duman.

Çetinkaya has the same first and last name as one of the former governors, who was sacked in 2019 by Erdoğan for not following instructions on monetary policy.

The latest move came following the dismissal of former Central Bank Governor Naci Ağbal again in a midnight presidential decree on March 20. Ağbal's abrupt removal came on the heels of a 200 basis-point interest-rate hike by the central bank on March 18.

Şahap Kavcıoğlu, a banking professor and columnist in pro-government Yeni Şafak newspaper, has become the new central bank governor. Kavcıoğlu will be the fourth governor to lead the bank in two years.

Erdogan is openly averse to high-interest rates, claiming high rates cause inflation, which stands in opposition to mainstream economic theory. He has pressured the central bank to keep rates low to fuel borrowing and growth. Critics say the independence of the central bank has been severely damaged by political pressure.