05.05.2025 13:41
The Minister of Treasury and Finance, Mehmet Şimşek, commented on the impact of the investigation regarding Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) President Ekrem İmamoğlu on the market, stating, "There was a significant outflow from Turkey in the first three days, primarily offshore. However, by the following Sunday, it had completely stabilized. The effect lasted for a few days."
The process that began with the detention of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on Wednesday, March 19, in connection with the investigation into the IMM has resonated widely in the Turkish public and has also brought many economic effects.
"THE FIRST 3 DAYS WERE A SERIOUS OUTFLOW"
The economic effects of this process were also questioned by Mehmet Şimşek, the Minister of Treasury and Finance, who participated in a live broadcast on TGRT News. Minister Şimşek stated, "There was a serious outflow from Turkey in the first 3 days, primarily offshore. But by the next Sunday, it had completely stopped. The effect lasted a few days. In fact, inflows from offshore began as well. However, later on, especially due to the trade wars centered in the USA, significant uncertainty regarding global growth emerged, which seriously triggered a flight to safety.
"THERE WERE OUTFLOWS FROM MANY COUNTRIES"
In other words, everyone tried to convert to cash or opted for very safe treasury securities; such preferences emerged. This, of course, affected Turkey. Therefore, it would be incorrect to say that only this factor had an effect. Both factors had an impact. The first was a demand arising from concerns about political uncertainty and turmoil within the country, while the other emerged as an expression of entering a period where global uncertainty, particularly regarding slowing growth and reduced risk appetite, was evident. There were outflows from many countries.
"IF OUR PROGRAM HAD NOT BEEN SUCCESSFUL..."
If our program had not been successful, as some claimed, could Turkey have weathered two major shocks with very limited impact? Since we could not reduce vulnerability to external shocks, since we could not strengthen macro-financial stability, since our program was not working, how could we have managed to overcome these two major shocks?" he stated.