UPDATE - Turkish Central Bank transparent in info, data sharing

UPDATES WITH REMARKS FROM COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FAHRETTIN ALTUN

By Merve Ozlem Cakir and Zafer Fatih Beyaz

ANKARA (AA) - The new head of Turkey's Central Bank said on Friday that the bank shared information and data transparently at international standards.

"On the matter of data sharing, I would like to underline once again that the CBRT [Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey] shares with the public the information and data within its duties and responsibilities at international standards in an extremely transparent way," Sahap Kavcioglu told Anadolu Agency.

Responding to debates about a $128 billion deficit in the Central Bank's foreign exchange reserves, Kavcioglu said in the exclusive interview that the bank could not make "privileged foreign exchange transactions with any segment, bank or company."

"When considered in terms of the balance sheet asset-liability balance, it's not possible to talk about lost assets," he said.

Citing a protocol signed with the Treasury in 2017 to coordinate foreign exchange transactions, he said this contributed to the prevention of unhealthy pricing, supply-demand balance in foreign exchange markets and liquidity establishment.

"The foreign exchange transactions in question were carried out via trading platforms based on the current market conditions and prices," he said.

Transactions on these platforms cannot be made by selecting any single specific party at non-market prices and independent of market dynamics, Kavcioglu explained.

Turkey’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun later also weighed on the issue via Twitter, saying there was "not a single penny missing" and that all transactions and figures by the bank are transparent.

*Writing by Aysu Bicer and Yunus Girgin​​​​​​​