Turkey's Erdogan calls on banks to offer lower interest rates

Politics 12:09 23.10.2018

Turkish banks should offer loans with lower interest rates to entrepreneurs to boost investments, President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying on Tuesday, a move he said would bring down inflation.

Erdogan, a self-described “enemy” of interest rates, has said high inflation is caused by high interest rates and has repeatedly called for lower borrowing costs.

Worries over Erdogan’s grip on monetary policy and the ability of the central bank to fight inflation under political pressure have helped send Turkey’s lira down around 33 percent this year.

“All the finance sector should open the way for entrepreneurs in investments, especially giving loans not with high interest but with low interest rates,” state-run Anadolu news agency quoted Erdogan as saying.

“This low interest will bring down (the) inflation, which is a worry.”

Turkey’s central bank raised its policy rate by 6.25 percentage points in September to 24 percent to stem inflation and put a floor under the lira.

Inflation hit nearly 25 percent in September, official data showed, its highest level in 15 years, sharpening focus on whether the central bank would need to deliver a hefty rate hike.

Twelve out of 15 economists in a Reuters poll expect the central bank to stand pat on policy in Thursday’s monetary policy meeting.

Erdogan said his view on inflation and interest rates may cause conflicts with academics.

“This is something I believe because it is proven. They do not provide evidence as they speak, we provide evidence as we speak,” he was quoted as saying.

“Therefore, I say this principle: interest is the cause, inflation is the result.”

IEPF issued a statement regarding Azerbaijani children at the UN Human Rights Council

News line

Maintaining Israel-Iran truce among Türkiye's top strategic goals: Turkish foreign minister
20:15 30.06.2025
Armenia, EU sign document on crisis management
20:00 30.06.2025
Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit Azerbaijan
19:45 30.06.2025
Ersin Tatar to visit Azerbaijan
19:30 30.06.2025
Yekaterinburg incident is open attack on national identity of Azerbaijanis
19:15 30.06.2025
Pakistani PM to visit Azerbaijan on July 3 Foreign policy
19:05 30.06.2025
Azerbaijani MP: Murder of Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg - barbarity
18:45 30.06.2025
EU extends sectoral sanctions on Russia for six more months
18:30 30.06.2025
COP29 delegation arrives in Seville to attend international conference
18:15 30.06.2025
Southern Europe swelters as 2025’s first major heatwave triggers wildfire, health alerts
18:05 30.06.2025
China launches freight train linking Beijing to Baku
17:45 30.06.2025
Total number of Azerbaijani mine victims since 2020 Patriotic War reaches 399
17:30 30.06.2025
Russian ombudsman asks Prosecutor General's Office to investigate detentions in Yekaterinburg
17:15 30.06.2025
Azerbaijan participates in 95th Annual General Meeting of Bank for International Settlements
17:00 30.06.2025
Anadolu: US envoy expects Trump, Erdogan to resolve arms sanctions on Türkiye this year Region
16:45 30.06.2025
Oil prices fluctuate in global markets
16:30 30.06.2025
UEFA Women’s Euro 2025: Full match schedule, groups, format
16:20 30.06.2025
Abu Dhabi population in 2024 grows 7.5% to reach 4.14 million
16:15 30.06.2025
Interior Ministry's operation in Sputnik-Azerbaijan office continues
16:00 30.06.2025
Court hearing underway on criminal case of persons of Armenian origin accused of committing war crimes
15:45 30.06.2025
Representatives of Moroccan House of Representatives visit Victory Park in Baku
15:35 30.06.2025
Bodies of brothers killed in Yekaterinburg handed over to relatives
15:30 30.06.2025
Baghdad Amreyev: TIF can support soft connectivity measures over Middle Corridor
15:15 30.06.2025
1,350 hectares of land cleared of mines in Azerbaijan last week
15:00 30.06.2025
GERB Leader Borissov and Home Affairs EU Commissioner Brunner discuss Schengen external borders in Sofia
14:45 30.06.2025
Kallas: Baku-Yerevan normalization could pave way for lasting peace in South Caucasus
14:30 30.06.2025
Sahiba Gafarova to participate in Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan interparliamentary forum in Khiva
14:30 30.06.2025
First-ever ECO Women Forum to be held in Azerbaijan's Lachin
14:15 30.06.2025
MP: Violence and brutality committed against Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg is unacceptable
14:00 30.06.2025
EPF: France placing radioactive waste on Armenia's territory, close to conditional border with Azerbaijan
13:45 30.06.2025
Twice-a-year shot could transform HIV prevention, but can the world afford it?
13:25 30.06.2025
Telangana chemical factory blast in India kills 10, injures dozens
13:15 30.06.2025
Average salary in Baku increases by more than 8%
13:05 30.06.2025
Azerbaijan relocates 37 more families to Kangarli village of Aghdam district
12:55 30.06.2025
German foreign minister arrives in Kyiv
12:25 30.06.2025
Officials confirm 6 were killed in Howland plane crash in US
12:15 30.06.2025
Bodies of Safarov brothers, killed in Yekaterinburg, to be brought to Azerbaijan today
12:05 30.06.2025
Norwegian fund drops US, German companies over sales to Israeli military
11:55 30.06.2025
ASAN service model to be implemented in Rwanda
11:35 30.06.2025
Politico: US and India could sign trade deal in fall
11:25 30.06.2025
Hamısı