Turkish Central Bank, Lenders Meet Amid Market Turmoil

In response to significant market volatility triggered by the recent arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the Turkish central bank officials are meeting with commercial lenders to discuss potential coordination and assess market conditions. Imamoglu, a prominent challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was jailed on corruption charges, leading to declines in the Turkish lira, stocks, and bonds. The central bank has already taken measures to stabilize the lira, including raising the overnight lending rate to 46% and suspending lending at the lower benchmark rate. Additionally, the central bank plans to issue liquidity notes with maturities of up to 91 days to further manage the situation. Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek assured banks that all necessary tools would be employed to mitigate what he described as temporary market volatility. This meeting marks a crucial step in addressing the economic uncertainty stemming from the political turmoil.