The Central Bank of Turkey. Photo: Getty images
Turkey’s central bank recorded a net loss of 700.4 billion liras (approximately $18.4 billion)in 2024. This is evidenced by the official accounting report published on Tuesday in Monitorul Oficial, Reuters reports.
Despite the enormous amount, these losses are somewhat less than in 2023, when the Central Bank lost 818.2 billion lira ($25.25 billion), which was caused by the significant costs of the programme to protect bank deposits from devaluation.
The losses will again deprive the Turkish budget of dividends: just like last year, the Bank will not be able to transfer profits to the state treasury, which puts public finances under pressure.
Established in 1930 on the initiative of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the Central Bank of Turkey is a joint-stock company. As of today, the state owns 55% of the shares, although initially it owned only 15%. However, unlike similar institutions in Switzerland or South Africa, the Bank of Turkey’s shares have no real market value, as they are not traded on the stock exchange.
In a number of countries, such as Switzerland, private sector shareholders have limited voting rights, but ownership of shares in such institutions is commonplace. In Turkey, however, it remains a semi-closed system that does not provide opportunities for external control or returns for small investors.
Turkey, which is struggling with high inflation and a falling lira, has found itself in a situation where its central bank is not generating profits and the economy remains in a vulnerable position.
