Turkey's finance chief: Action plan ready to ease markets

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey's finance minister said Sunday that the government has prepared "an action plan" aimed at easing market concerns that have led to a slump in the value of the nation's currency.

In an interview with the newspaper Hurriyet, Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak also said the government had no plans to seize foreign currency deposits or convert deposits to the Turkish lira.

"As of Monday morning, our institutions will take the necessary actions and will share the necessary announcements with markets," Albayrak was quoted as saying.

"All our precautions and actions plans are ready," he added, without elaborating.

Turkey was hit by a financial shockwave this past week as the lira nosedived 14 percent Friday over concerns about the government's economic policies and a trade and diplomatic dispute with the United States. The currency's value has fallen more than 40 percent since the start of the year.

Earlier, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned of drastic measures if businesses withdraw foreign currency from banks.

Speaking in the northeastern city of Trabzon on Sunday, Erdogan warned business executives to not "rush to banks to withdraw foreign currency."

He added that businesses should "know that keeping this nation alive and standing isn't just our job, but also the job of industrialists, of merchants."

During the speech, Erdogan reiterated his earlier claim that the crisis has resulted from "an operation against our economy conducted through exchange rates" and said Turkey would prevail.