Monthly Report on Credit and Liquidity Programs
and the Balance Sheet

Liquidity Swaps

Recent Developments

• Use of the Federal Reserve's foreign central bank dollar liquidity swaps has declined noticeably in recent weeks, consistent with a general improvement of conditions in short-term funding markets.
• As of May 27, total dollar liquidity extended to foreign central banks dropped to $182 billion.

Background

Because of the global character of bank funding markets, the Federal Reserve has worked with other central banks in providing liquidity to financial markets and institutions. As part of these efforts, the FRBNY has entered into agreements to establish temporary reciprocal currency arrangements (central bank liquidity swap lines) with a number of foreign central banks. Two types of temporary swap lines have been established--dollar liquidity lines and foreign-currency liquidity lines.

The FRBNY operates swap lines under the authority in section 14 of the Federal Reserve Act and in compliance with authorizations, policies, and procedures established by the FOMC.

Dollar Liquidity Swaps

On December 12, 2007, the FOMC announced that it had authorized dollar liquidity swap lines with the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank to provide liquidity in U.S. dollars to overseas markets. Subsequently, the FOMC authorized dollar liquidity swap lines with additional central banks. These lines are now authorized with the following institutions: 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 Japan, the Bank of Korea, the Banco de Mexico, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, the Norges Bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Sveriges Riksbank, and the Swiss National Bank. The FOMC has authorized these lines through October 30, 2009.

Table 3. Amounts Outstanding under Dollar Liquidity Swaps

Swaps under these lines consist of two transactions.When a foreign central bank (FCB) draws on its swap line with the FRBNY, the FCB sells a specified amount of its currency to the FRBNY in exchange for dollars at the prevailing market exchange rate. The FRBNY holds the foreign currency in an account at the FCB. The dollars that the FRBNY provides are deposited in an account that the FCB maintains at the FRBNY. At the same time, the FRBNY and the FCB enter into a binding agreement for a second transaction that obligates the FCB to buy back its currency on a specified future date at the same exchange rate. The second transaction unwinds the first. Because the swap transaction will be unwound at the same exchange rate used in the initial transaction, the recorded value of the foreign currency amounts is not affected by changes in the market exchange rate. At the conclusion of the second transaction, the FCB pays interest at a market-based rate to the FRBNY.

When the FCB lends the dollars it obtained by drawing on its swap line to institutions in its jurisdiction, the dollars are transferred from the FCB account at the FRBNY to the account of the bank that the borrowing institution uses to clear its dollar transactions. The FCB remains obligated to return the dollars to the FRBNY under the terms of the agreement, and the FRBNY is not a counterparty to the loan extended by the FCB. The FCB bears the credit risk associated with the loans it makes to institutions in its jurisdiction.

The foreign currency that the Federal Reserve acquires is an asset on the Federal Reserve's balance sheet. In tables 1, 9, and 10 of the H.4.1 statistical release, the dollar value of amounts that the foreign central banks have drawn but not yet repaid is reported in the line entitled Central bank liquidity swaps. Dollar liquidity swaps have maturities ranging from overnight to three months. Table 2 of the H.4.1 statistical release reports the remaining maturity of outstanding dollar liquidity swaps.

Foreign-Currency Liquidity Swap Lines

On April 6, 2009, the FOMC announced foreign-currency liquidity swap lines with the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, and the Swiss National Bank. These lines are designed to provide the Federal Reserve with the capacity to offer liquidity to U.S. institutions in foreign currency should a need arise. These lines mirror the existing dollar liquidity swap lines, which provide FCBs with the capacity to offer U.S. dollar liquidity to financial institutions in their jurisdictions. If drawn upon, the foreign-currency swap lines would support operations by the Federal Reserve to address financial strains by providing liquidity to U.S. institutions in amounts of up to £30 billion (sterling), €80 billion (euro), ¥10 trillion (yen), and CHF 40 billion (Swiss francs). The FOMC has authorized these liquidity swap lines through October 30, 2009. So far, the Federal Reserve has not drawn on these swap lines.

Table 4. Discount Window Credit Outstanding to Depository Institutions
Daily average borrowing for each class of borrower over the four weeks ending May 27, 2009

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