2.10 Communication 

2.10.1 Accountability and Monetary Policy Communication

In 2022, the CBRT continued its communication activities with a view to supporting the Liraization Strategy and increasing public awareness. Accordingly, the CBRT, in line with the principle of transparency, aimed to reinforce public confidence in its policies and enhance their effectiveness, and continued to convey messages regarding the predictability of its monetary policy stance in 2022.

On 2 December 2022, Governor Şahap Kavcıoğlu made a presentation at the Plan and Budget Committee of the GNAT and then answered questions from MPs. In addition, Governor Kavcıoğlu participated in the TRT News Live Broadcast on 6 December 2022 and the event called Türkiye 2023 Summit & Money Talks on 8 December 2022, where he answered journalists’ questions and explained the rationale underlying the policy steps.

The CBRT continued to publish its analytical balance sheet on its website on a daily basis and issued a report to share its independently audited balance sheet and income-expense statements along with the results of the audits in 2022.

In line with the monetary policy in effect, the CBRT’s main monetary policy communication documents are MPC announcements and Inflation Reports. Accordingly, in 2022, Inflation Reports were presented at press conferences on 27 January, 28 April, 28 July and 27 October in Ankara, in which Governor Şahap Kavcıoğlu participated. In these conferences, which were broadcast live on TV channels and social media, Governor Şahap Kavcıoğlu answered the questions of participants. Through the Inflation Reports, the CBRT shared international economic developments, the course of inflation and supply and demand as well as overall assessments concerning financial markets, financial intermediation and public finance along with medium term inflation and output gap forecasts.

In 2022, the CBRT continued to post the decisions and the summaries of MPC meetings on its website. The CBRT shared with the public “The Monetary Policy and Liraization Strategy for 2023” on 30 December 2022, as well as major activities and changes in implementation that were of significant concern to the public by means of press releases throughout 2022.

The CBRT continued to closely monitor developments regarding financial stability and share with the public the summary of these developments through the Financial Stability Reports published regularly in May and November.

Monthly Price Developments, which is issued on the first working day following the release of inflation figures to promote better public understanding of monthly inflation developments, continued to be a significant communication tool of the CBRT in 2022.

As part of direct communication, Governor Şahap Kavcıoğlu met with various professional organizations and made presentations. Following the presentations, he ensured the communication was two-way by listening to the views and suggestions of the participants.

2.10.2 Communication Activities for the General Public

In 2022, the CBRT continued to use digital communication tools to inform various target audiences and to respond to information demands from the public.

The CBRT website remained its main communication channel, and the CBRT continued its communication activities in 2022 through all its social media accounts, chiefly Twitter. In 2022, the number of followers of the CBRT’s Twitter account in Turkish, where information about the decisions taken and data released were enriched with visual content, exceeded 500,000. The Governor’s speeches and briefings on the Inflation Reports were broadcast live on the CBRT website as well as its Twitter and YouTube accounts. Moreover, informative videos prepared for Inflation Reports, the Financial Stability Report and the Monetary Policy and Liraization Strategy were also published on the CBRT website, Twitter and YouTube accounts.

The CBRT’s corporate blog remained in use and featured new analyses in 2022, one of which was authored by Governor Şahap Kavcıoğlu. Published blog posts were announced to the public via short videos on social media. The CBRT Blog is located at www.tcmbblog.org and can be followed on Twitter @CBRTBlog.

Communication activities were carried out to introduce YUVAM accounts, which enable non-residents and their companies abroad to invest their savings in banks in Türkiye and offer additional return advantages in addition to the Central Bank’s guarantee. The YUVAM microsite prepared to this end was promoted on the CBRT’s social media accounts and in various public arenas.

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 Presidency’s Communication Center (CIMER), and the Bank’s e-mail address info@tcmb.gov.tr. Applications processed duly in 2022 totaled 3,627 through the e-mail address; 14,669 through BES and “For your questions” page, 2,057 through the CBRT Complaint Management System, and 11,289 through CIMER.

The Press Release No. 2022-46 on the revision to the Balance of Payments Statistics was published on the CBRT website on 11 November 2022.

To facilitate a wider use of the Electronic Data Distribution System (EDDS) in academic research within universities, online EDDS training is provided at the request of universities. Two such courses were held this year: “Samsun University Economics and Finance Department EDDS Training Seminar” and “Başkent University Academic Research Seminar Series EDDS Training Seminar”.

2.10.3 Investor Relations

Following an intermission as a preventive measure due to the coronavirus pandemic, face-to-face meetings resumed in 2022. In this context, the CBRT organized face-to-face meetings and videoconferences with investor agencies and credit rating agencies (CRAs) in 2022. Forty-eight investor meetings were held with the participation of domestic and foreign investors, economists, analysts and portfolio managers, and 10 meetings were held with CRAs. A total of 325 institutional investors were contacted through these meetings.