Erdoğan dismisses another central bank official

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday dismissed Central Bank committee member Ömer Duman, Dünya newspaper reported, marking the third change in the bank’s administration over the last 10 days.

Duman has been replaced with Ertan Aydın on the recommendation of the Treasury, the newspaper said.

The member of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will remain in office until the end of his term, Dünya said.

The Turkish leader earlier this month dismissed central bank governor Naci Ağbal with a presidential decree, in a move that has prompted the lira to lose about 14 percent of its value against the dollar.

Earlier on Tuesday, Erdoğan dismissed Central Bank Deputy Governor Murat Çetinkaya, replacing him with Mustafa Duman, a former executive of Morgan Stanley Securities.

Erdoğan as part of the overhaul of the bank has appointed as new head Şahap Kavcıoğlu, a former banker and parliamentarian for his governing party who has sympathised with the Turkish president’s opposition to high interest rates.

Erdoğan claims high borrowing costs are inflationary, a view that jars with conventional economic wisdom.