Turkey Reveals Scheme That Encourages the Conversion of Gold Deposits Into Lira Time Deposits

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey recently revealed it made the decision to provide incentives to gold deposit and participation fund holders that request to convert these into lira time deposits, a statement from the central bank has said.

Incentives Intended to Boost Financial Stability

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) has announced the launch of an incentive scheme that encourages Turkish residents to convert their gold deposits and participation funds into lira time deposit accounts.

In a brief statement released in late December 2021, the central bank explained that this incentive scheme is intended “to support financial stability.” As has been widely reported, Turkey is in the midst of a deep economic crisis that has led to the sharp depreciation of the lira and the rising of prices.

In turn, this combination of a falling currency and a rising rate of inflation has seen more Turkish residents seek sanctuary in alternative stores of value like gold and digital currencies. As recently reported by Bitcoin.com News, the number of daily cryptocurrency trades in that country recently went past the one million mark. This milestone suggests that more Turkish residents are choosing to protect their savings with alternatives such as bitcoin and gold.

Conversion to Lira Time Deposits

Therefore, as part of the Turkish government’s latest attempt to halt the lira’s decline, the central bank explained in the statement that “deposit and participation fund holders” choosing to convert their funds into lira will get incentives.

“The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey has decided to provide [an] incentive to deposit and participation fund holders in the event that their gold deposits and participation funds are converted into Turkish lira time deposit accounts at the account holder’s request,” read a statement released by the central bank on December 29.

The statement however does not share the details of how the CBRT is planning to reward residents that agree to have their gold or participation funds converted.

What are your thoughts about this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Terence Zimwara

Terence Zimwara is a Zimbabwe award-winning journalist, author and writer. He has written extensively about the economic troubles of some African countries as well as how digital currencies can provide Africans with an escape route.