Philippines, Japan renew currency swap arrangement

The Philippines and Japan have renewed a bilateral currency swap arrangement, which will boost financial stability and cooperation between the two countries, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

The BSP and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) have renewed their bilateral swap arrangement effective Jan. 1, the Philippine central bank said in a statement on Monday.

“The Bank of Japan, acting as agent for the Minister of Finance of Japan, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas signed the fourth Amendment and Restatement Agreement of the Third BSA,” it said.

“Japan and the Philippines believe that the BSA, which aims to strengthen and complement other financial safety nets, will further deepen financial cooperation between the two countries and contribute to regional and global financial stability,” the BSP said.

The BSA allows both central banks to swap their local currencies in exchange for the US dollar.

“The arrangement also enables the Philippines to swap the Philippine Peso against the Japanese Yen,” the BSP added.

The limit for the swap agreement remained unchanged at USD 12 billion or its equivalent amount in yen for the Philippines. Japan can swap up to as much as $500 million. — A.M.C. Sy