Foreign Currency Resources

The main source of foreign currencies used in U.S. intervention operations currently is U.S. holdings of foreign exchange reserves. At the end of June 2004, the United States held foreign currency reserves valued at $40 billion. Of this amount, the Federal Reserve held foreign currency assets of $20 billion, and the Exchange Stabilization Fund of the Treasury held the rest.

The U.S. monetary authorities have also arranged swap facilities with foreign monetary authorities to support foreign currency operations. These facilities, which are also known as reciprocal currency arrangements, provide short-term access to foreign currencies. A swap transaction involves both a spot (immediate delivery) transaction, in which the Federal Reserve transfers dollars to another central bank in exchange for foreign currency, and a simultaneous forward (future delivery) transaction, in which the two central banks agree to reverse the spot transaction, typically no later than three months in the future. The repurchase price incorporates a market rate of return in each currency of the transaction. The original purpose of swap arrangements was to facilitate a central bank’s support of its own currency in case of undesired downward pressure in foreign exchange markets. Drawings on swap arrangements were common in the 1960s but over time declined in frequency as policy authorities came to rely more on foreign exchange reserve balances to finance currency operations.

In years past, the Federal Reserve had standing commitments to swap currencies with the central banks of more than a dozen countries. In the middle of the 1990s, these arrangements totaled more than $30 billion, but they were almost never drawn upon. At the end of 1998, these facilities were allowed to lapse by mutual agreement among the central banks involved, with the exception of arrangements with the central banks of Canada and Mexico.

Reciprocal currency arrangements can be an important policy tool in times of unusual market disruptions. For example, immediately after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Federal Reserve established temporary swap arrangements with the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, as well as a temporary augmentation of the existing arrangement with the Bank of Canada. The purpose of these arrangements was to enable the foreign central banks to lend dollars to local financial institutions to facilitate the settlement of their dollar obligations and to guard against possible disruptions to the global payments system. The European Central Bank drew $23.5 billion of its swap line; the balance was repaid after three days. The other central banks did not draw on their lines. The temporary arrangements lapsed after thirty days.

 Back