Turkey: Prez Erdogan fires central bank chief

Policy differences between government and the bank reportedly deepened in the face of an economic slump.

Ankara: Amid the ongoing economic crisis, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has fired the Central Bank's Governor without giving any official reason.

According to a presidential decree published in the official gazette, Murat Cetinkaya was replaced by his deputy Murat Uysal.

Policy differences between government and the bank reportedly deepened in the face of an economic slump.

The recent announcement has made serious concerns over the independence of Central Bank.

Earlier, Erdogan had described the interest rates as the mother and father of all evil.

In the past, Erdogan had pressured the Central Bank to lower interest rates to boost economic growth.

Besides Erdogan's pressure, Central Bank in September had increased its benchmark interest rate from 17.5 percent to 24 percent, saying that this would help to battle inflation and boost the lira.

In a statement on Saturday, the Central Bank said it will continue to operate independently and that the new Governor will focus on maintaining price stability as its key goal.