According to insiders, Turkey's central bank is close to concluding a 1 billion euro ($1.14 billion) currency exchange arrangement with its Azerbaijani counterpart in the coming weeks.
Lately, Turkey has struck multiple swap deals to increase its hard currency reserves, the most recent of which was signed on 19 January with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) and its Emirati equivalent signed a swap arrangement with a nominal value of 18 billion UAE dirhams and TL 64 billion (US$4.7 billion).
The central bank has swap agreements totalling US$23 billion with China, Qatar, and South Korea (TL 260.66 billion). They promote local currency transactions while also increasing the central bank's gross reserves.
According to Reuters, Turkey had previously sought agreements with central banks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Malaysia.
Last year, the central bank issued five direct market interventions totalling US$10 billion in an attempt to curb the national currency's depreciation before announcing a lira protection plan, according to bankers.
