French bank BNP Paribas will not pull out from Turkey

By Gokhan Kurtaran

LONDON

French banking giant BNP Paribas has no intention of pulling out of Turkey, the chair of the bank said on Friday.

"Turkey is a great country, it's a great economy," Jean Lemierre told CNBC in an interview during the annual Singapore Summit.

Asked whether the bank was considering to pull out of Turkey, Lemierre said, "We should calm down all these comments. Turkey is great. They face difficulties, I hope and I'm sure they know how to face the difficulties."

Lemierre also said the Turkish Central Bank raising interest rates was a "right move" and "a bold, and serious, and an extremely important decision".

"Turkey has to react, and they have reacted, and I think they have taken the right measures at a time when the currency was weaker and weaker," he added.

On Thursday the Turkish Central Bank raised its one-week repo rate by 625 base points, from 17.75 percent to 24 percent.