RBI signs special currency swap agreement with Central Bank of Sri Lanka
18 Jul 2015
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday signed a special currency swap agreement with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, under which the Sri Lankan central bank can draw up to $1.1 billion for a maximum period of six months.
This special arrangement is in addition to the existing Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for the SAARC member countries.
Earlier, on 25 March 2015, RBI had signed a currency swap agreement with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka for $400 million under the existing SAARC Currency Swap Framework within the overall limit of $2 billion.
The swap arrangements are intended to provide a backstop line of funding for the SAARC member countries to meet any balance of payments and liquidity crises till longer term arrangements are made or if there is need for short-term liquidity due to stressed market conditions.
The existing SAARC Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement is applicable for the SAARC member countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
The proposal to extend the additional currency swap facility of $1.1 billion for a limited period was decided by the union government in April 2015 based on the recommendation of the Reserve Bank of India for mitigating the possible currency volatility in the spirit of strengthening India's bilateral relations and economic ties with Sri Lanka.
The swap arrangements are intended to provide a backstop line of funding for the SAARC member countries to meet any balance of payments and liquidity crises till longer term arrangements are made or if there is need for short-term liquidity due to stressed market conditions.