President Erdogan removes Turkey’s third central bank governor in less than two years

Ankara, Turkey

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has removed the country’s central bank governor -- third in less than two years, and replaced him with an advocate of lower interest rates. 

According to the decree published on Saturday in the Official Gazette, Sahap Kavcioglu has replaced Naci Agbal, who was appointed in November.

Agbal’s abrupt removal comes on the heels of a 200 basis-point interest-rate hike by the central bank on Thursday.

Agbal took the job as Turkey’s top banker after weeks of declines in the lira. He was able to boost the central bank’s damaged credibility among investors.

Kavcioglu is a professor of banking at Marmara University in Istanbul. He takes over after the pace of inflation accelerated for a fifth month in February to nearly 16 per cent. 

The currency has taken one of the worst hits among peers from climbing US Treasury yields, slumping more than 7 per cent since mid-February and adding to calls for Agbal to backstop the market with higher rates.

(with inputs)