2.10 Communication Activities

2.10.1 Accountability and Monetary Policy Communication

The CBRT works diligently to guarantee an effective communication strategy in order to improve the effectiveness of its monetary policy and adhere to the principle of accountability associated with the Bank’s instrumental independence. Keeping the public informed about monetary policy actions and the rationale for these actions is very important because it not only helps them gain support when they are properly understood by the public but is also conducive to a more credible monetary policy and better-anchored expectations.

For the CBRT, accountability means being accountable to the public for its decisions, their consequences and its corporate governance. To maintain price stability and to fulfil its responsibility towards society, the Bank continued to engage in efforts to ensure that its actions and intentions were accessible to and correctly understood by everyone. The CBRT also sought to enhance its own credibility and effectiveness.

Rules governing the CBRT accountability are stipulated in Article 42 of the Bank Law. As required by the principle of accountability, the CBRT continued to publish its analytical balance sheet on its website on a daily basis. The Bank issued a report explaining the results of the independent audits of its balance sheet and income statement. Similarly, the rationale for CBRT policy decisions and the repercussions of such decisions were also publicly announced through regular reports and presentations.

Under the current monetary policy regime, the CBRT’s main communication tools are MPC announcements and Inflation Reports. Inflation Reports follow a pre announced calendar and contain information about international economic developments, the inflation outlook, supply and demand conditions, general assessments concerning financial markets, financial intermediation and public finance, and medium term inflation forecasts. These reports also included text boxes dealing with current issues concerning the Turkish economy. In 2018, Inflation Reports were presented at press conferences on 30 January and 31 July in Ankara and on 30 April and 31 October in Istanbul. All press conferences were broadcast live on the CBRT website as usual and the proceedings were simultaneously translated into English for non Turkish audiences. The July and October press conferences were also live streamed on the Bank’s official Twitter account.

The CBRT continued to post on its website the MPC decisions on short term interest rates and other monetary policy instruments along with summaries of MPC meetings held on scheduled dates specified in the “Monetary and Exchange Rate Policy for 2018.” Information about the CBRT’s most important activities and about changes in implementation that were of significant concern to the public were disclosed by means of 51 press releases in 2018. The Bank announced its Monetary and Exchange Rate Policy for 2019 on 5 December 2018.

To help promote better public understanding of monthly inflation developments, the CBRT also continued to issue a report on Monthly Price Developments on the first business day following the release of inflation figures.

According to a pre announced schedule, the Bank posted Financial Stability Reports on its website on 31 May and 30 November 2018. In the Financial Stability Reports, the CBRT shared its perspective on the overall financial system with respect to the most recent financial stability developments in Turkey and abroad.

As part of direct communication activities, Governor Murat Çetinkaya conducted a series of domestic and international presentations and speeches concerning CBRT policies and practices and current economic developments. Governor Çetinkaya took part in a variety of meetings and conferences and explained CBRT policies to audiences.

2.10.2 Communication Activities for the General Public

To achieve uniformity of style across internal and external communication, the CBRT created a new corporate identity that combined all corporate design elements in one place. The new corporate design came into effect on 1 January 2018.

The Bank’s website, i.e. its main communication channel, was redesigned to meet current technological trends and user demands, and all online texts and content plans were reviewed. With a new image corresponding to the new corporate design and renewed content, the new website was launched on 2 February 2018. This update was built to meet user needs and habits and employed simple and concise content planning.

The mobile app that the Bank uses to diversify its digital platforms underwent changes in both layout and content to reflect current practice. The updated version was published on Android and iOS markets in November 2018.

Having been online since December 2016 to help bank professionals share their views with the public, open these views to discussion, and provide timely contributions to the economic agenda, the CBRT corporate blog continued to feature new analyses and videos, and its website was redesigned as well. Thirty-six new analyses and two new videos were published on the blog throughout the year. The CBRT blog is located at CBRTblog.org and can be followed on Twitter @CBRTBlog.

The CBRT continued to have an active presence on social media and enrich its social media posts with visual content. The Bank made intensive and effective use of Twitter in particular, reaching 196,000 followers on its Turkish Twitter account.

As a means to reach its target audience including young people, the Economics for All initiative opened up an Instagram account called “Economics for All.”

The corporate strategy on using Facebook was changed in 2018. On its Flickr account, the CBRT continued to share photographs from events and activities organized by the Bank. In addition, the CBRT published a broad range of video content, from the Governor’s speeches to Inflation Reports, Financial Stability Reports, the Monetary and Exchange Rate Policy for 2018, various CBRT events as well as Economics for All videos, on its YouTube channel.

To provide correct and up-to-date information on the Bank’s history, corporate structure and main duties, the Bank prepared a publication titled “The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey History and Duties.” Printed copies were distributed to universities across Turkey while the electronic version was published on the Bank’s website. Its English translation was also published online in December.

Moreover, the CBRT issued an online booklet, “Central Banking in 100 Questions,” on the Bank’s main duties, corporate structure and monetary policy.

The CBRT continued to respond to requests for information sent through the Right to Information Unit (BES) established under the Right to Information Act, the Presidential Communication Center (CİMER) and the Bank’s e-mail address, iletisimbilgi@CBRT.gov.tr, which is used for communicating with individuals and institutions outside the Bank. Applications received via BES, CİMER and iletisimbilgi@CBRT.gov.tr totaled 3,219 (448 through e-government), 2,097 and about 9,010, respectively.

On 14 February 2018, a mobile app for the Electronic Data Delivery System (EDDS) was launched.

2.10.3 Activities on Financial Education and Economy Education

The CBRT continues with the Economics for All program it started to raise awareness about the importance of price stability and to teach economics to various types of learners. This program features publications, events and similar communication activities for various target groups and aims to enable all target groups to have access to different levels of tools and content published on its own microsite about the importance of price stability, the role of a central bank in the economy, and current economic issues.

One of the key parts of this initiative is the Economics for All microsite. Launched on 2 February 2018 to explain basic economic concepts, the Economics for All microsite is a pioneer of its kind in Turkey. The microsite uses various forms of content such as videos, booklets, infographics and tests to raise awareness on the basic principles of economics and the CBRT’s main functions. Aiming to raise the level of economic literacy, the microsite featured more than 60 posts on basic economic concepts, central banking and current economic developments.

In 2017 and 2018, a team of “Educational Volunteers” from bank employees visited primary schools in the pilot project area in Ankara. Accordingly, the team taught fourth graders about economics for one school hour on site across five primary schools and introduced about 670 students to concepts such as money, the function of money, inflation, price stability and central banking in an age-appropriate way.

The Bank also continued to organize half-day University Gatherings to inform students of the CBRT’s administrative structure and main functions as well as the job placement process and career opportunities at the CBRT, and facilitate a question/answer interaction between students and Bank employees. Organized in both spring and fall semesters, these events attracted up to 1,000 students from various universities.

The “Economics for All in Anatolia” project was launched to reach out to the whole country and visits to primary, secondary and higher-level educational establishments in seven cities across seven regions are planned by the end of 2019.

The first leg of the project was held in Gaziantep between 17 and 19 October 2018. The second leg was held in Bursa between 19 and 21 December 2018. As part of our outreach event series, primary and secondary school teachers that participated in Teacher Gatherings were introduced to the Economics for All program, the CBRT and monetary policy as well as educational materials that can be used in the classroom. In each city, school visits targeted grades four, seven and eleven. In these seminars, students were informed about money, the CBRT and inflation using age-appropriate presentations, videos, games and contests. Additionally, the Bank conducted University Gatherings for students of Economics and Administrative Sciences in each city visited. These events involved presentations by CBRT directors about central banking and price stability, Q&A sessions and various contests, and reached out to 3,000 participants.

Course plans, infographics, activity plans and similar educational materials related to the Economics for All program that may benefit pre-school and primary school teachers are published on the CBRT’s website. These materials can also be found on the educational informatics network of the Ministry of Education (http://www.eba.gov.tr/eicerik/CBRT), making them accessible to a larger audience.

On 12 May 2018, the CBRT organized a Youth Forum in Istanbul to raise public awareness about price stability, foster bilateral communication between the Bank and university students, one of the Bank’s target groups, and help this audience better understand monetary policy actions. This one-day event brought together university students who have keen interests in economics, watch the economy closely, and try to understand and interpret economic developments in a better way. During the event, participants asked questions to prominent economists and CBRT directors regarding economy and monetary policy, and had the chance to express their personal views. Participants also competed in teams to win a prize for a presentation on “Why is Price Stability Important for You?.” The team with the most votes from participants and CBRT employees was rewarded. Moreover, a quiz game enabled students to both test their knowledge of monetary policy and have fun. About 160 students from 16 universities participated in this activity.

In order to have stronger relationships and bilateral communication with press members, who serve as a gateway to the public, give them more insight into CBRT-related issues and make CBRT announcements and data releases well-understood, the Bank organized two Press Gatherings, one on 13 April 2018 in Ankara and another on 17 November 2018 in Istanbul, in which a total of 50 press members participated.

2.10.4 Investor Relations

In 2018, the CBRT organized meetings and teleconferences with Investor Agencies and Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs), participated in investor meetings abroad, and collaborated with the Turkish Investor Relations Society (TUYID). Throughout the year, the CBRT held technical level face to face meetings with investors at regular intervals at its Head Office. In 72 meetings, the Bank met with a total of 423 investors, analysts and economists, representing 262 financial institutions. In the same period, 15 meetings were held with CRAs, five of which were teleconferences.

Tablo 2.10.4.1: Meetings Held in 2018

In addition to investor meetings that took place at the CBRT Head Office, the Bank participated in the investor meeting, “Turkey Macro and Credit Conference,” organized by JP Morgan in London on 26 March. Moreover, the CBRT collaborated with the TUYID on two seminars in Istanbul on “The Role of CBRT Policy Actions in Investor Relations” in May and November to provide investor relations professionals with up-to-date information about the Turkish economy and monetary policy issues and to exchange views. Apart from that, Bank staff attended a variety of training programs, seminars and conferences, both in Turkey and abroad, through 2018.