ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday appointed a former US-based bank executive to head Turkiye’s central bank, in another sign that his administration might pursue more conventional economic policies. Erdogan named Hafize Gaye Erkan, a former co-Chief Executive Officer of the First Republic Bank, as governor, according to an announcement in the Official Gazette. The Princeton-educated Erkan (41) becomes the Turkish central bank’s first woman governor. Erdogan won a third presidential term in elections last month as the country grapples with a cost-of-living crisis fuelled by inflation that peaked at a staggering 85 per cent in October. Critics blame the turmoil on Erdogan’s policy of lowering interest rates to promote growth. The approach runs contrary to conventional economic thinking that calls for rate increases to combat inflation.