Naci Agbal

The Turkish central bank (also known as CBRT or TCMB) has issued "Regulation on the Disuse of Crypto Assets in Payments." It was published Friday in the official newspaper of the Turkish government.

The central bank also announced Friday that "studies on the regulation regarding the disuse of crypto assets in payments have been completed."

Turkey's central bank held rates steady at 19% as expected on Thursday and dropped a pledge to tighten policy further if needed, in its first decision since President Tayyip Erdogan fired the hawkish former governor and sparked a market selloff.

The foreign-currency liquidity of Turkish banks is sufficient to cover a short-lived market closure and moderate outflow of FX deposits, according to credit ratings agency Fitch on late on April 6. 

It projected the banks' short-term foreign currency debt service requirement, in the extreme event of a full market shut down for 12 months, has increased to $45 billion-$50 billion.

A Turkish opposition leader on March 31 criticized the president over frequent changes in the Central Bank leadership.

Erdogan this month fired bank governor Naci Agbal who had increased the country’s policy interest rate by a total of 875

Turkish Central Bank Governor Naci Ağbal was dismissed and replaced with former MP professor Şahap Kavcıoğlu, according to a new presidential decree published in the official gazette early on March 20. 

Ağbal was appointed governor in November 2020 after former governor Murat Uysal was dismissed.

Turkey has quite a resilient economy and it tends to rapidly recover from the shocks, a leading economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development told Anadolu Agency on March 16. 

The Turkish Central Bank is focusing on ensuring permanent price stability while implementing a steady monetary policy, the bank's Governor Naci Ağbal said on March 5. 

"We will continue to take firm steps towards achieving price stability through a confidence-oriented monetary policy in the upcoming period," Ağbal wrote on the bank's blog.

With the stabilization of capital inflows and reversal of dollarization trend in deposit/participation funds, the Turkish Central Bank will increase its reserves through auctions, the governor said on Feb. 9. 

"When the conditions are mature enough, we will share our plan for this with the public in an open and transparent manner," Naci Ağbal told a meeting with economists.

Turkish Central Bank Gov. Naci Ağbal said the economy has lost some pace recently but signs that Turks are shifting toward lira assets suggests a reversal in dollarization may come.

"We are working day and night to achieve lasting price stability," Ağbal told Reuters in an interview.

"We know we are in a difficult period."