fifteen percent of the capital. Class (B) shares are allocated to national banks; Class (C) shares are allocated to banks other than the national banks and to privileged companies; and Class (D) shares are allocated to Turkish commercial institutions and to legal and real persons of Turkish nationality. According to the Law No. 1715, the primary objective of the Central Bank was to support the economic development of the country. To this end, the Bank was authorized to set rediscount ratios (the main policy tool), regulate money markets and the circulation of money, execute Treasury operations, and take measures related to the stability of the Turkish currency. The Bank was vested with the exclusive privilege of issuing banknotes in Turkey. Additionally, the Bank also assumed the role of the treasurer of the Government. Under the fixed exchange rate regime implemented during that period, the Government was the authority to set the exchange rates. Independence of the Central Bank and low levels of inflation prevailed during the 1930s, as the Government could not intervene in the Bank's field of authority and decisions. Post-Second World War Period During the 1940s, which were dominated by the adverse effects of the Second World War, the Central Bank, like its peers all over the world, implemented policies to offset the public finance deficit rather than implementing an independent monetary policy. Therefore, the general price level increased more than threefold in the 1938-1948 period. During the 1950s, growth and rapid development were financed by Central Bank sources, and these sources were rendered available to public authority through short-term advances provided to the Treasury. An important development for the Central Bank in that period was the establishment of the Banknote Printing Plant in 1955 and from 1957 onwards banknote-printing started in Turkey. With the transition to planned economy in the 1960s, the Central Bank continued to provide resources to the public sector by pursuing expansionary monetary policies made possible by the economic circumstances and industrial development. It was during this time that the majority of practices related to foreign exchange control were transferred to the Central Bank. The Law on the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey No. 1211 In order to adjust to the global changes that occurred in the aftermath of the Second World War and to enhance the efficiency of the Central Bank, the Law on the Central Bank of the Republic of