ECB: Central Banks Extend Liquidity Swap Arrangements

The European Central Bank said Thursday that its current temporary bilateral liquidity swap arrangements with five other central banks will remain in place until further notice.

"The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve, and the Swiss National Bank announced on Thursday that their existing temporary bilateral liquidity swap arrangements are being converted to standing arrangements, that is, arrangements that will remain in place until further notice," the ECB said in a statement.

"These arrangements allow for the provision of liquidity in each jurisdiction in any of the five currencies foreign to that jurisdiction, should the two central banks in a particular bilateral swap arrangement judge that market conditions warrant such action in one of their currencies," the statement said.

The existing temporary swap arrangements have helped to ease strains in financial markets and mitigate their effects on economic conditions, the ECB explained.

"The standing arrangements will continue to serve as a prudent liquidity backstop," it added.