Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey

Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said they will continue to support the Central Bank's fight against inflation with fiscal policy.

The economic program aims to restore price stability and fiscal discipline while addressing macroeconomic challenges, such as reducing the current account deficit, Şimşek stressed.

Turkey's central bank posted a 2023 loss of 818.2 billion lira ($25.25 billion), showed its balance sheet published in the Official Gazette on Sunday, on the back of steep loss stemming from the "KKM" foreign exchange-protected deposit scheme.

The Central Bank has announced that it will scrap the implementation regarding securities maintenance based on loan growth while raising the monthly maximum interest rates to be charged for credit cards. 

The bank said it is considering terminating the securities maintenance practice "in a short while."

Credit growth rates are expected to stabilize following the policy rate decision taken in March and the macroprudential measures, according to the Central Bank.

Total loan growth has accelerated since the bank's rate-setting meeting in February, the bank said in the summary of the March Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, released on March 28.

The First Vice President and Head of Client Services Group of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Jürgen Rigterink is to embark on a four-day visit to Türkiye, with stops scheduled for the earthquake-hit cities in the southeast of the country.

Türkiye's Central Bank has decided to opt for lifting the key policy rate, increasing the one-week repo auction rate from 45 percent to 50 percent.

Most economists had expected the Central Bank, which held the policy rate steady last month after eight straight increases, to keep the rate unchanged at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on March 21.

Türkiye's Central Bank has a 'free hand' and policymakers at the bank will do what is necessary to reduce inflation, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said.

The essence of the economic program is disinflation, to bring inflation to single digits, Şimşek said in an interview with private broadcaster Kanal 7.

The Central Bank has raised the monthly maximum interest rate on credit card cash withdrawals from 4.42 percent to 5 percent.

The bank's decision, which aimed at curbing credit card spending, was published in the Official Gazette on March 16 and came into force.

Turkey's central bank on Saturday raised the maximum interest rate on credit card cash withdrawals to 5% from 4.42%, according to a decision published in the Official Gazette, in a move aimed at additional tightening.

The fight against inflation remains the government's priority, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz has reiterated, voicing optimism that inflation will gradually come down as predicted in the medium-term program.