Türkiye’s central bank chief has dispelled speculations surrounding the monetary authority’s currency policies and reaffirmed the institution’s dedication to maintaining financial stability and ensuring price stability amid a shift toward a more conventional policy framework since after the May elections.

Hafize Gaye Erkan, the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) governor, said the institution had no intention of influencing the levels or directions of the Turkish lira.

She stated that the bank did not engage in foreign exchange transactions for the purpose of determining or influencing exchange rates.

“If we had the intention to control the exchange rate, the currency fluctuations observed since our appointment would not have occurred,” Erkan stated, dismissing speculations about the bank’s motives.

The lira has depreciated some 30% against the U.S. dollar this year, with most of the declines taking place following the May vote that secured President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan another five-year term. The currency traded at 27.5683 to the dollar on Wednesday.

“We have no (specific) exchange rate target, no exchange rate projection,” Erkan said as she addressed the queries of lawmakers during a session of Parliament’s Planning and Budget Commission.

She highlighted that the bank’s intervention, if any, in the foreign exchange market was minimal and aimed at preventing excessive volatility, a common practice among global central banks.

“The central bank definitely does not make foreign exchange purchase or sale transactions aimed at determining the level or direction of exchange rates,” Erkan said.

Addressing concerns about speculative attacks on the currency, Erkan pointed out that the institution occasionally engaged only to provide necessary liquidity.

She emphasized that such interventions have been minimal since her tenure began after Erdoğan named her in June to be the first woman to run the central bank.