Media Releases
Published Date: 03 February 2009

Monetary Authority of Singapore Announces Extension of Swap Facility with US Federal Reserve

 

Singapore, 3 February 2009...On 30 October 2008, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) joined global central banks in establishing a temporary reciprocal currency arrangement (swap line) of US$30 billion with the US Federal Reserve.  The swap facilities allow the Federal Reserve to provide US dollar liquidity to financial institutions through central banks in sound, well-managed and systemically important financial centres to help to improve liquidity conditions in global financial markets and to mitigate the spread of difficulties in obtaining US dollar funding.

2   Today, the Federal Reserve and other central banks extended their temporary reciprocal currency arrangements (swap lines) to 30 October 2009.  The extension currently applies to swap lines between the Federal Reserve and thirteen other central banks, the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Banco Central do Brasil, the Bank of Canada, Danmarks Nationalbank, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Korea, the Banco de Mexico, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, the Norges Bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Sveriges Riksbank, and the Swiss National Bank. 

3  The swap facility represents on-going co-operation between the Federal Reserve and MAS to enhance the robustness of the US dollar funding and foreign exchange markets in Singapore by reassuring global financial institutions operating in Singapore that they have access to US dollar liquidity.  MAS has not needed to draw on the swap facility and judges that it is not necessary to do so at this time, but will continually assess the need as global conditions develop. 

4  MAS stands ready to take measures necessary to strengthen the orderly functioning of financial markets and the stability of the financial system in Singapore, and to maintain confidence in Singapore as an international financial centre. 

***

Note to Editors:

Information on Related Actions by Other Central Banks

Information on swap line arrangements between the Federal Reserve and other central banks is available at the following websites:

Reserve Bank of Australia   http://www.rba.gov.au/
Banco Central do Brasil   http://www.bcb.gov.br/
Bank of Canada   http://www.bankofcanada.ca/
Danmarks Nationalbank   http://www.nationalbanken.dk/
Bank of England   http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/
European Central Bank   http://www.ecb.int/
Federal Reserve System   http://www.federalreserve.gov/
Bank of Japan   http://www.boj.or.jp/
Bank of Korea   http://www.bok.or.kr/
Banco de México   http://www.banxico.org.mx/
Reserve Bank of New Zealand   http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/
Norges Bank   http://www.norges-bank.no/
Sveriges Riksbank   http://www.riksbank.com/
Swiss National Bank   http://www.snb.ch/