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US Fed extends crisis measures by six months
Posted: 04 February 2009 0004 hrs

US Federal Reserve Building in Washington, DC.

WASHINGTON: The US Federal Reserve on Tuesday extended by six months several joint facilities designed to inject liquidity into the global financial system, saying markets remained strained.

The lending facilities, including currency swap lines launched with 13 foreign central banks at the height of market turmoil last year, have been extended through October 30. They were due to expire on April 30.

"The board of governors and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) took these actions in light of continuing substantial strains in many financial markets," a statement said.

Among the extended programmes were the Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility, the Commercial Paper Funding Facility, the Money Market Investor Funding Facility, the Primary Dealer Credit Facility and the Term Securities Lending Facility.

In addition, to address continued pressures in global US dollar funding markets, temporary reciprocal currency arrangements - commonly known as swap lines - between the Federal Reserve and other central banks have also been extended, the statement said.

Swap lines extended were with the central banks of Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Britain, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland and the European Central Bank.

The Fed said that the central Bank of Japan would consider an extension of its swap line with the US at its next monetary policy meeting.

The deadline for another programme, the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, remains on December 31, 2009, the Fed said. - AFP/de