Economist Tunç Şatıroğlu described the banks’ request for certification for foreign exchange transfer as a kind of ‘capital control’. He said that this actually shows that the reserves are not as good as thought.
It was revealed that the Central Bank (MB) requested information and reports from all banks in order to collect data on money transfer transactions, and banks required a document stating ‘the nature and nature of the transaction’ from their customers regarding foreign currency transfer.
The situation that emerged when an internal correspondence from Garanti BBVA circulated on social media was interpreted by some experts as a ‘capital control’.
‘It can bring a jump in the exchange rate’
Speaking to Burcu Göksüzoğlu from How Bir Economy, Şatıroğlu said that this means ‘capital control’.
Şatıroğlu said the following on the subject: “There was also the matter of proof. This proof of work means that if you are going to send money somewhere, I send it because I want it, there is no such thing as sending foreign currency. You can’t send it because you want, you have to make a payment. If you are paying, if there is an invoice for it, if there is something, if you can document it with it, you can send it. This is a form of capital control. This actually shows that the reserves are not as good as thought. Central Bank reserves may have improved, but there are huge deficits that need to be closed somewhere. Turkey’s reserve, that is, the reserve needed by the economy management, is not good. This can bring a jump in the exchange rate when we least expect it.”
Reserve dropped
The net reserve of the Central Bank decreased by $1.46 billion in the week of December 23, after an eight-week rise.
After falling to a 20-year low of $6.1 billion at the beginning of July, net reserves followed a fluctuating course despite the CBT’s series of measures to increase foreign exchange reserves. Reserves have recorded eight weeks of non-stop recovery since the last week of October.