(Bloomberg) -- Turkey signaled it may reverse a ban on trading liras with BNP Paribas SA, Citigroup Inc. and UBS Group AG, potentially stepping back from measures imposed last week after the currency's slide to a record low.
The ban may be lifted if the three banks meet local-currency obligations to Turkish lenders, Mehmet Ali Akben, the head of the banking regulator known as BDDK, told the state-run Anadolu Agency on Sunday. Restricting foreign investors' access to lira liquidity makes it difficult for them to bet against the currency.
READ MORE: Turkey Takes Aim at Citi, BNP, UBS as Lira Breaches Record Low
Turkey imposed the ban after market interventions and new anti-manipulation rules failed to stem a lira rout. The currency hit a record low on Thursday after state media blamed unidentified financial institutions for manipulative attacks on the currency. It erased losses as word of the ban got out.
“We will keep fighting against manipulation attempts,” Akben said.
He also said there are no plans to restrict market commentary or analysis based on facts, following criticism that the wording of new regulations could make financial commentary a prosecutable act.
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