New head takes reins at Turkey's Central Bank

ANKARA

The new governor of Turkey’s Central Bank officially took over his new role in a handover ceremony Tuesday.

Murat Cetinkaya took over from Erdem Basci at the bank’s headquarters in Ankara.

“Institutions that follow the principles of continuity and transparency can achieve long-lasting success,” Basci, who is stepping down at the end of his five-year tenure, said. “In the last 15 years, the Central Bank has set a good example of this.”

He added that Turkey’s 7.5 percent inflation rate is expected to decrease further.

Cetinkaya said the bank would aim to achieve price stability through transparent policies. “One of the building blocks of the next term for our bank is to coordinate different approaches and policy suggestions during the resolution processes around one goal,” he said.

“We will hold an integrative approach towards the issues that pays regard to macro-economic equilibriums and monetary policies.”

The bank is in charge of Turkey’s monetary policy and has often been in conflict with the government over interest rates, which the bank has kept relatively high to stabilize the lira. The government is in favor of lower rates to boost investment.