TechFlow News, according to Bloomberg, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has appointed Fatma Ozkul, a professor who teaches cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, as a member of the central bank's interest rate-setting committee. Under a presidential decree, Fatma Ozkul, a lecturer at Istanbul's Marmara University, joins the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Turkey. According to her university profile, her primary research areas include accounting, finance, and auditing, and she has taught courses on blockchain technology and digital assets.
After winning re-election in May, Recep Tayyip Erdogan formed a new economic team and in June appointed Hafize Gaye Erkan, a former Goldman Sachs banker, as central bank governor. Since then, the bank has raised policy rates by 3,400 basis points to 42.5%. The pace of monetary tightening accelerated further in July when Erdogan replaced three members of the Monetary Policy Committee.
The appointment of Fatma Ozkul is unlikely to alter the current trajectory of monetary policy. Her recent academic work has focused on blockchain, crypto assets, and their impact on finance. According to her professional profile, she published a book on cryptocurrency accounting in 2022.
