The truth behind the Central Bank's reserve move... Who will be the next 'casualty'? Is there a setup against Mansur Yavaş?

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) has taken new decisions to stop the rapid depletion of its foreign exchange reserves and to rebuild them. According to the decisions published in the Official Gazette dated Saturday, September 3, 2025, the reserve requirement ratios for foreign currency deposits were increased by 200 basis points across all maturities, and the reserve requirement ratio for funds obtained from repo transactions in foreign currency with a maturity of up to one year made to domestic residents was increased by 400 basis points.

4.5 BILLION DOLLARS IN RESERVES TO BE WITHDRAWN

12punto columnist Meriç Köyatası wrote that with this step, the Central Bank will withdraw approximately 4.5 billion dollars in liquidity from foreign currency deposit reserves in banks. Köyatası emphasized that this move is not just a technical step, but that there are political and economic readings behind it.

ONE-THIRD OF FOREIGN CURRENCY IS TAKEN FROM EXPORTERS

Furthermore, with the change made to the export circular, the minimum rate of export proceeds that must be sold to the Central Bank was set at 35 percent. As it will be remembered, this rate had previously been increased to 60 percent, and was later gradually reduced to 25 percent on March 5. Köyatası stated that with the new practice, the Central Bank is trying to increase its reserves by seizing one-third of the foreign currency earned by exporters.

In his article, Meriç Köyatası also touched upon why the Central Bank wants to accumulate reserves. Stating that under normal conditions, a country should have sufficient reserves for its short-term external debt payments and imports, Köyatası said, "But there are no normal conditions in the New Turkey anymore."

Pointing out that the ratio of the current account deficit to national income has increased approximately 10-fold during the AKP era, Köyatası stated that external debts have risen, imports have grown, and in this environment, the public is being squeezed to accumulate reserves. According to Köyatası, reserves were created over the last two years by offering the world's highest real interest rates to foreigners and hot money, but this has created an unsustainable burden.

A COST OF 80-90 BILLION DOLLARS

Referring to his previous article titled "The cost of ambition," Meriç Köyatası stated that the economic policies in question have created a cost of approximately 80-90 billion dollars. Arguing that the government ignores this cost, Köyatası said, "They are determined not to turn back from their mistake."

Köyatası pointed out that foreign exchange reserves are still continuing to melt away, and that demand for foreign currency and gold persists domestically despite high interest rates. He stated that inflation cannot be brought down, interest rates will remain high, and this will return as a cost to both the state and the citizens.

PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN'S 'PERISH' REMARK

In the shadow of all these developments, Köyatası also addressed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's statement at the parliamentary group meeting, "Let's see how many more CHP members will perish on the path of presidential ambition," and wrote that the public has naturally started to ask the question, "Is Mansur Yavaş next?"

Stating that the steps taken against Ekrem İmamoğlu were taken early, Köyatası claimed that an operation against Mansur Yavaş is being planned, saying, "I guess they need some time for the second move, since it started so early..."

ARE RESERVES FOR A NEW OPERATION?

Meriç Köyatası ended his article with this striking assessment:

"The reserves accumulated over two years were burned for Ekrem İmamoğlu. Although I do not know how much the President cares about Central Bank reserves to neutralize his political rivals. But right now, Central Bank reserves are not available to conduct an operation against Mansur Yavaş.

Therefore, I estimate that there are two possibilities when evaluating the latest decisions taken by the Central Bank to rebuild reserves:

A- To strengthen the economic outlook...

B- To prepare for a Mansur Yavaş operation..."