Turkish Central Bank unveils new measures on COVID-19

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) – The Central Bank of Turkey (CBRT) on Tuesday introduced new measures to limit economic fallout due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The steps aimed to back monetary transmission mechanisms, banks' flexibility in liquidity management, uninterrupted credit flows to the corporate sector and firms exporting goods and services.

Open Market Operations portfolio can now be carried out in a front-loaded manner and limits may be revised depending on market conditions, the bank said.

For a temporary period, the Central Bank said it would purchase government domestic debt securities bought by primary dealer banks from the country's unemployment insurance fund.

It added that asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities were now included in collateral pool under Turkish lira and foreign exchange operations.

The CBRT increased limits for targeted additional liquidity facilities, deciding to hold Turkish lira currency swap auctions with a maturity of six months.

Turkish lira-denominated rediscount credits for export and foreign exchange earning services will be extended to firms exporting goods and services, it said.

The coronavirus death toll in Turkey reached 168 on Monday, with 10,827 positive cases, according to the country's Health Ministry.

After first appearing in Wuhan, China, last December, the virus has spread to at least 178 countries and regions, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

The number of confirmed cases worldwide has surpassed 788,000, while the death toll is above 37,800, and more than 166,700 people have recovered so far.

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