Turkey plans to move central bank HQ to Istanbul

ANKARA Dec 17 (Reuters) - Turkey's centre-right government plans to move the headquarters of the central bank to Istanbul as part of a bid to make the country's largest city a regional financial hub, Economy Minister Mehmet Simsek said.

The ruling AK Party has already announced plans to move some of the financial regulatory bodies to Istanbul, a city of some 14 million connecting Europe and Asia, against the background of a wave of Turkish banking acquisitions by major foreign banks.

"We will move the central bank to Istanbul. If necessary a change in the law will be made. We want to make Istanbul into a financial centre," Simsek was quoted by state-run Anatolian news agency as telling reporters.

Some Turkish Central Bank officials have raised concerns about moving the bank from the capital where the seat of power is.

(Editing by Stephen Nisbet)