Exchange Rate Protected Deposit, one of the most controversial practices of the Turkish economy in recent years, has completely ended. While the KKM balance, which once exceeded 140 billion dollars, was reset to zero, the dollar increased to approximately 5.4 times, the general price level increased to 7.4 times, and gram gold increased to more than 14 times, compared to the period when the application started. The increase in food prices for some products reached 14 times. Calculations regarding the total cost of KKM on the Treasury and the Central Bank indicate a bill of approximately 60 billion dollars.
IT TOOK 5 YEARS
According to the data of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency for the week of August 21, the KKM balance, which was 4 million lira in the previous week, decreased to zero. Thus, the system, which once reached trillions of lira, completely disappeared from the banking tables. KKM was put into operation on December 21, 2021. According to the regulation of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, TL time deposit interest was compared with the exchange rate change during the maturity, and if the increase in the exchange rate remained above the interest yield, the difference was paid to the depositor’s account. In the first phase, the system started to operate with 3, 6, 9 and 12 month maturities. Thus, the practice actually ended after approximately 4 years and 8 months, not exactly 5 years.
EXCEEDED 140 BILLION DOLLARS
The size of KKM increased rapidly, especially in 2022 and 2023. According to Central Bank data, the total KKM balance reached over 140 billion dollars in August 2023, and up to approximately 143 billion dollars according to the calculation in the Central Bank’s 2025 Activity Report. Although KKM accounts have disappeared, the debate about the cost of the application continues. While the exchange rate difference payments made by the Treasury could be directly monitored from the budget data, the main burden in the later part of the system passed to the Central Bank balance sheet. The picture that emerged in the 2023 balance sheet of the Central Bank was remarkable. The Central Bank closed 2023 with a loss of 818.2 billion TL. In the evaluation, it was explained that the loss was mainly due to the exchange rate differences paid to KKM accounts.
EXCHANGE RATE HAS INCREASED
The figures that emerged during the process are also quite interesting and a matter of debate. Looking at September 2021 before KKM, dollar / TL was approximately 8.8 lira. As of today, the dollar is traded at approximately 48.2 TL. Accordingly, the dollar increased 5.4 times in approximately five years. In other words, while approximately 112 dollars could be purchased in September 2021, approximately 21 dollars can be purchased with the same money today.
14 FOLD INCREASE IN UNDER GRAMS
The change in gold was also higher than foreign currency. On September 30, 2021, the price of 24 carat gram gold was approximately 501 TL. Today, gram gold is traded in the free market in the range of approximately 7 thousand 100-7 thousand 150 TL. According to statistics, the increase in gram gold reached approximately 14.2 times. While approximately 2 grams of gold could be purchased with a thousand liras in September 2021, today a thousand liras is only enough to buy approximately one seventh of a gram of gold.
GASOLINE FROM 7.7 LIRA TO 74 LIRA
A similar picture emerged in fuel oil. On September 1, 2021, the liter price of gasoline in Istanbul was 7.75 TL. In the last days of September, the price remained around 7.78 TL. Today, the price of a liter of gasoline on the European Side of Istanbul is 74.29 TL, and on the Anatolian Side it is 74.13 TL. While approximately 129 liters of gasoline could be purchased with a thousand liras in September 2021, today approximately 13.5 liters can be purchased with the same money. In other words, the theoretical cost of a 50-liter automobile tank increased from approximately 388 lira to 3 thousand 700 lira.
SOME PRODUCTS INCREASED 10 TIMES
One of the most striking changes for citizens was experienced in market prices. In August 2021, the average price per kilogram of beef in the market was 69.73 TL. Today, the price of beef increased to 974.88 TL. While approximately 14.3 kilograms of beef can be purchased with a thousand liras in 2021, approximately one kilogram can be purchased with the July 2026 price. Based on the data, Public Opinion Researcher Volkan Tebrizcik says, “The approximately 4-year and 8-month period in which KKM was implemented was not limited to changes in the deposit system. There was a period in which the Turkish lira lost value, inflation remained at high levels for a long time, deposit interest rates changed sharply, gold and foreign exchange prices doubled, and consumer prices reached much higher nominal levels.”
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