10 February 2020
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The Turkish government is planning to significantly increase penalties for manipulating the Turkish lira, according to reports.
The punishments, which will be extended to anyone found guilty of manipulating the price of financial securities or benefiting from information illegally obtained will include a minimum prison term of three years.
The lira gained slightly on the news this morning, nudging up by 0.4% against the dollar to TL5.98.
Today's move follows a previous set of reforms in 2018 that sought to tighten regulation around currency trading with the aim of preventing a repeat of the currency crisis Turkey experienced that year."
Today's move follows a previous set of reforms in 2018 that sought to tighten regulation around currency trading with the aim of preventing a repeat of the currency crisis Turkey experienced that year. Over the course of 2018 the lira lost more than 30% of its value against the US dollar.
Today's reforms will allow the central bank in Istanbul to cap fees and commissions charged by lenders to their clients, in a move that dramatically increases the bank's influence over the local financial sector. The move follows criticism from the government in Ankara that certain banks were not doing enough to support the lira.
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