Japan banks seize on US dollar funding

Lenders in Japan have drawn more than $161.4 billion from Federal Reserve-backed dollar liquidity facilities since March 17, outstripping those made by banks in other countries.

On March 20, four central banks – the Bank of England (BoE), the Swiss National Bank (SNB), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) – started offering seven-day dollar funding on a daily basis. These facilities are backed by standing dollar swap line arrangements with the Fed. 

On March 23, the