Central bank

A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages a state's currency, money supply, and interest rates. Central banks also usually oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the monetary base in the state, and usually also prints the national currency, which usually serves as the state's legal tender.

The primary function of a central bank is to control the nation's money supply (monetary policy), through active duties such as managing interest rates, setting the reserve requirement, and acting as a lender of last resort to the banking sector during times of bank insolvency or financial crisis. Central banks usually also have supervisory powers, intended to prevent bank runs and to reduce the risk that commercial banks and other financial institutions engage in reckless or fraudulent behavior. Central banks in most developed nations are institutionally designed to be independent from political interference. Still, limited control by the executive and legislative bodies usually exists.

Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, CBRT (Turkish: Türkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankası, TCMB) is the central bank of Turkey and is founded as a joint stock company on 11 June 1930.

Shares of the CBRT are divided into four classes. Class A shares belong solely to the Turkish Treasury. Class B and Class C shares are allocated to national banks operating in Turkey, banks other than national banks and privileged companies. Finally, Class D shares are allocated to Turkish commercial institutions and to real and legal persons of Turkish nationality.

The CBRT determines, at its own discretion, the monetary policy to pursue and the policy instruments to use in achieving price stability in Turkey. This implies that the CBRT enjoys instrument independence. In order to attain its objective of price stability, the CBRT has implemented a full-fledged inflation targeting regime since 2006.

The preparations to establish a central bank of Turkey began in 1926, but the organization was established on 3 October 1931 and opened officially on 1 January 1932. The Bank had, originally, a privilege of issuing banknotes for a period of 30 years. In 1955, this privilege was extended until 1999. Finally it was prolonged indefinitely in 1994.