President Tayyip Erdogan is considering appointing Hafize Gaye Erkan, a senior finance executive in the United States, as governor of Turkey’s central bank, according to two senior officials with knowledge of the matter.
Erkan met with Mehmet Simsek, Turkey’s newly-appointed treasury and finance minister, in Ankara on Monday, one of the sources said. The two sources told Reuters she is set to meet Erdogan soon to discuss the possible role.
The second source said Erkan was one of “a few candidates” to succeed current bank chief Sahap Kavcioglu, who spearheaded Erdogan’s unorthodox policy of slashing rates since 2021 despite inflation soaring to a 24-year peak above 85% last year.
A former co-CEO at First Republic Bank and a former managing director at Goldman Sachs, Erkan could not be immediately reached for comment.
Erdogan’s office and the Treasury ministry did not comment on Erkan.
