Erdogan Unveils Extraordinary Steps to Bolster Lira, Savings (1)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government announced extraordinary measures to bolster the Turkish lira, including the introduction of a new program that will protect savings from fluctuations in the local currency.

The government will make up for losses incurred by holders of lira deposits should the lira’s declines against hard currencies exceed interest rates promised by banks, Erdogan said after chairing a cabinet meeting in Ankara.

The lira trimmed its drop -- which had extended to as much as 10.6% -- after Erdogan’s announcement and was trading down 5.9% at 17.4240 per dollar at 8:45 p.m. in Istanbul.

“From now ...