Banks not part of fixed forex rates: Turkish watchdog

ANKARA (AA) - The exchange rate for Turkish banking sector receivables has not been fixed, the head of Turkey’s banking watchdog said Thursday, adding, "Fixing the forex rate for bank assets would disturb their asset liability balance."

"The exchange rate for the bank’s receivables was not fixed," Mehmet Ali Akben, the head of Turkey's Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), told Anadolu Agency.

“Otherwise [if it was fixed], the active and passive balance would suffer, leading to unfair competition in the banking sector,” he added.

His comments come in the wake of a new measure introduced Tuesday that gives sections of some state institutions which have foreign currency-denominated receivables under domestic payment liabilities the opportunity to fix the forex rate.

The measure was issued to help support the Turkish lira, which has lost more than 20 percent of its value against the dollar since last November.