Post by Fenlander on Aug 28, 2008 9:02:23 GMT 2
New TL notes to circulate by 2009, 550 tons of money to be printed
TCMB Governor Durmuþ Yýlmaz (R) faces the press to announce the procedure to be followed during the remaining three months in transition to the TL.
The Central Bank of Turkey is preparing to drop the "new" in New Turkish Lira (YTL) and New Turkish Kuruþ (YKr) and introduce a new currency by the beginning of January 2009 in a move that would restore the traditional Turkish currency based on the Turkish lira (TL), which was removed from circulation in 2005 as a temporary step when it lost six zeros as inflation lowered.
Central Bank of Turkey Governor Durmuþ Yýlmaz publicized the latest developments in the plan for the transition period in a press conference in Ankara yesterday, also noting that brand-new TL 200 notes, a first for Turkey, would enter into circulation as well. He also tried to divert fears of the new note causing a hike in inflation rates, saying that no monetary expansion that could lead to higher inflation would occur. The release of new money will be balanced with the amount of money currently in circulation.
According to the information presented by Yýlmaz, the new TL notes and Kuruþ coins will be different in shape, size and appearance from the current forms of currency. These innovations and novelties will not be presented to the public until Sept. 3, as a precaution to prevent forgery. Yýlmaz also said the new currency boast feature tougher security safeguards, aiming to make it extremely hard to counterfeit the money. The transition process to exchange old bills and coins with the new TL notes will be one year. Both YTL and TL notes will be valid during this time and by the end of 2009, the YTL will be removed from circulation completely.
Yýlmaz also said that the central bank would produce 575 millions copies of bills and coins, a total r YTL 26 billion. The total weight of the banknotes produced will be approximately 550 tons. He went on to say that there was no need for Turks to rush to change money, as the transition period will be long enough for citizens to comfortably transition to the TL. According to Yýlmaz, people will be able to withdraw both TL and YTL from ATMs during the transition year, starting from the beginning of 2009. By the end of the year, bills of sale, cash items and account books will all be transacted in TL. He also noted that there would be no more paper one-lira notes, only TL coins.
The central bank will also print legends to assist the visually impaired in recognizing and distinguishing the coins and the banknotes, part of a system already present in other European countries. The new currency will feature embossment to aid the visually impaired in distinguishing them. "I also have difficulty with the new currencies. I am sure this will change, but it may take some time," said Yýlmaz.
Having met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan yesterday, Yýlmaz said that he had introduced the new money to Erdoðan. The Turkish Central Bank distributed some advertisement pamphlets to the press on which were printed some clues as to the new currencies' design. Each image on the brochure corresponds with an important Turkish figure. Some famous old Turkish poets, scientists, philosophers, and others, like poet Yunus Emre (represented by a rose) or Hazerfan Ahmet Çelebi (represented by a bird) are likely to appear on the backsides of the new banknotes. Turkish daily Zaman had reported to its readers on some of these innovations months ago.
According to a recent public poll conducted by the central bank, only one-third of Turks know that redesigned currency would hit the market next year. Only 18 percent know any details about the new systems. Yýlmaz said that millions of pamphlets about the new currency would be printed and distributed to inform residents of Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) about the changes and the "new" TL