CBRT to Set Maximum Interest Rate on FX-Linked Deposits

LOCAL NEWS

• CBRT will have the authority to determine the maximum interest rate that can be applied on FX-linked lira accounts, according to decree published in official gazette.
  • Turks living abroad will be able to open FX-linked lira time deposit accounts, according to another decree in the gazette
• CHP says Turkey must reduce the cost of energy from the Akkuyu nuclear plant currently being built by Russia’s Rosatom in southern Turkey, will cost much more than the market price for industrialists. “We could buy cheaper electricity from abroad.”
  • If CHP comes to power, it will “have to solve this cost issue in some way,” Kilicdaroglu says, referring to food exports to Russia.
  • Central bank has been reduced to an institution that “just prints money” and “implements orders.” A CHP govt would nationalize infrastructure projects that enjoy FX-based govt guarantees
• Confederation of Turkish Trade unions survey shows the gap between the starvation line and minimum wage is narrowing.
  • Monthly cost of a balanced diet for a family of 4 has risen to TRY 4,249 in Jan – marginally below the minimum wage (TRY 4,253).
  • Also notes the cost of living for a single employee has risen to TRY 5,587 vs 4,926 in December. Union says citizens are finding making ends meet notably difficult in the face of rising inflation across the basket
• Tourism professionals say 2022 will be a much more productive year, and that reaching 2019 performance is possible. Tourism rose 103% in 2021, despite the impact of Covid-19