One of the main pillars of policy implementations in this respect is to encourage economic units to borrow less and to use more equity capital (in other words to have lower leverage ratios). Recent implementations such as increasing required reserve ratios, the termination of remuneration of required reserves, the sustained fiscal discipline in the public sector as underlined in the  BIS Review 174/2010  1  revised Medium-Term Program, the increase in Resource Utilization Support Fund deductions imposed on consumer loans, the introduction of limitations to loan/value ratio in mortgages, the 12-percent target for banks’ capital adequacy ratios are deterring measures against an excessive rise in indebtedness ratios. Secondly, the extension of maturities regarding the borrowings of economic units is encouraged. Under the aegis of the Undersecretariat of Treasury, studies for extension of maturities in public borrowings are being carried out successfully. An important development is that The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency has permitted the issuance of Turkish lira bonds so as to extend the maturities of liabilities in the banking sector. Additionally, the Central Bank decreased overnight borrowing by 400 basis points last month enabling short-term swap interest rates to go down when required. Besides, the Central Bank aims to encourage long-term deposits with the new arrangements to be made in required reserves. The third pillar of the policy framework is to encourage borrowing in terms of the Turkish currency and to strengthen the net foreign exchange position.
Global liquidity has increased significantly as central banks of developed countries, which eased policy rates rapidly, adopted quantitative easing policies. Recently, capital flows to developing countries such as Turkey have been accelerating owing to expectations that short-term interest rates in developed countries would remain low for an extended period, the decoupling in growth performances of countries and increased risk appetite. In the face of growing capital flows, some developing countries are introducing measures to prevent capital inflows. However, past experiences of countries show that restricting capital inflows is not really effective in terms of the volume of capital inflows while it is only partially effective in terms of the type of incoming capital. In other words, due to reasons such as financial innovation and the integration of markets, it is not possible to effectively prevent capital flows, unless they are fully controlled. The current conjuncture is conducive to benefiting wisely from capital flows and implementing policies that would reinforce financial stability and enhance financial depth. In this respect, the Financial Stability Report, which was prepared by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey and made public yesterday, is an important policy text delineating the strategy to be implemented in the upcoming period to maintain and reinforce financial stability in Turkey. Therefore, I suggest that the report be examined in detail. The policy framework, which the Report outlines in detail, has four pillars.