The high inflation rates in Türkiye and the sky rocketed Homes prices forced the Governor of the Central Bank to live with her parents
The Governor of the Turkish Central Bank, Hafize Gaye Erkan, revealed that the high inflation rate in the country and its impact on the cost of housing prompted her to reside with her parents in Istanbul.
“We didn’t find an apartment in Istanbul, Real estate is very expensive… We had to stay with my parents,” Erkan said in statements.
Hafize Gaye Erkan (44) was appointed Governor of the Central Bank last June.
She returned to her country after spending more than two decades in the United States, where she worked in major financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs and First Republic.
She added, “Is’t possible that the cost of living in Istanbul has become more expensive than Manhattan?”
This is a question whose answer is known to a large portion of the young generation in Turkey’s largest cities.
Türkiye recorded an annual inflation rate in November of 61%, under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s economic policy, which allowed the value of the local currency to decline.
The Turkish president, who was re-elected last May, made extensive adjustments to his financial and economic team, including appointing chief staff members of the Central Bank, pledging to find solutions to years of severe economic crises.
In an effort to reduce the escalating public anger, Turkish officials set a 25% ceiling for rent increases, in a move that analysts saw as contributing to increasing tensions in the housing sector, as landlords seek to evict tenants, sometimes by resorting to fraudulent means, with the aim of obtaining allowances higher housing for new tenants.
Last month, the Central Bank increased interest rates to 40% in an attempt to control inflation, and in this context, Erkan explained, “We’re approaching the end of monetary austerity measures”.
