ISTANBUL
Turkey's central bank is expected to leave interest rates on hold, a panel of economists predicted on Friday.
All of the 18 economists who participated in Anadolu Agency's Financial Expectation survey predicted that Turkey's central bank will leave benchmark interest rates on hold at 8.25 percent.
The bank is slated to rule on interest rates in its next Monetary Policy Committee meeting on October 23.
One of the 18 economists forecast a cut in the marginal lending rate, which currently stands at 11.25 percent, by 25 basis points. The marginal lending rate is a fixed rate at which institutions borrow money from the central bank.
One other economist forecast that the central bank would begin to pay interest on deposits from banks used to maintain required reserve ratios -- funds kept in reserve by banks to ensure their financial stability.
As of June, the reserve ratios of the banks operating in the Turkish market was 17.3% which is above the minimum level required by the international regulatory legislation called Basel III. Many banks keep reserve funds parked at the central bank which currently does not pay interest on them.
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