The Central Bank (BDL) gross reserves in foreign currencies reached $40.71 billion at the end of last year, an increase of around ten percent from 2015.

Bank expert Joe Sarrouh said: “The main reason is the financial engineering adopted by BDL, and its effect on foreign deposits.”

Sarrouh said: “Higher reserves ensure more confidence in the banking sector and more stability for the lira.”

Gold reserves also increased nine percent at the end of 2016.

Total reserves (gold and foreign currencies), which reached $51.4 billion, represents more than 90 percent of the entire money supply in lira. This is also equivalent to 69 percent of the overall gross public debt, 80 percent of the net public debt, and over 140 months of debt service, according to BDL.