Banks rush to tap new dollar liquidity facilities

The new Federal Reserve-backed 12-week dollar liquidity facilities offered by four major central banks saw strong demand on their first day of operation (March 18).

Of the four, the European Central Bank (ECB) saw the strongest demand, with $75.8 billion allocated through its 12-week facility and $36.2 billion in the one-week operation. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) allocated $30.2 billion and $2 billion in its 12-week and one-week facilities, respectively; the Bank of England (BoE) $7.2 billion and