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Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) Ercan Kumcu died on Saturday at the age of 70.
In a statement posted on its official X account, the CBRT expressed sadness at learning of Kumcu’s passing, offering condolences to his family and loved ones.
Ercan Kumcu served as deputy governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) from 1988 to 1993, working under then-Governor Rusdu Saracoglu.
His tenure coincided with a turbulent economic and political climate, shaped in part by the regional and financial instability caused by the 1990–1991 Gulf War.
Economist Mahfi Egilmez noted that both Saracoglu and Kumcu resigned from the central bank in 1993 after a dispute with then-Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, as they advocated a hawkish monetary stance amid rising risks but were overruled.
Their departures came shortly before Türkiye’s 1994 currency crisis, one of the most severe economic downturns of the decade.
In that year, the Turkish lira depreciated sharply, with the U.S. dollar exchange rate rising by more than 160% in a matter of months. Inflation surged above 100%, overnight interest rates climbed above 400%, and economic activity contracted sharply.
Born in Istanbul in 1955, Kumcu graduated from Bogazici University’s economics department in 1977. He earned his PhD in economics from Boston College in 1983.
Kumcu began his academic career in the United States, teaching at Boston College, Eastern Michigan University, and the State University of New York at Binghamton.
His courses focused on macroeconomics, monetary theory, international economics, and finance.
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