Liquidity Management

US Dollar Swap Facility

On 30 October 2008, MAS joined the group of central banks, including the European Central Bank, Bank of England and Bank of Japan, which have established temporary reciprocal currency arrangements (swap lines) with the US Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has established a total of 14 swap lines with major central banks worldwide.The arrangements, due to end on 1 February 2010, were established to help improve liquidity conditions in global financial markets and to mitigate the spread of difficulties in obtaining US dollar funding in fundamentally sound and well-managed economies.

MAS established the swap facility with the Fed as a precautionary measure to reassure financial institutions in Singapore, many of which have international operations, that they would have access to US dollar liquidity in the midst of a global US dollar funding shortage. Market confidence was boosted by the assurance of access to US dollar liquidity in the Singapore dollar money market. However, local money markets remained relatively resilient. MAS has not needed to draw on the swap facility and will continually assess if there is a need to as global conditions develop.