To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how foreign currency swaps undertaken by the Bank of England are reported in official figures, with particular reference to reporting on foreign exchange reserves. (252756)

Foreign currency swaps undertaken by the Bank of England with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York are reported in the Bank Return (within ‘other liabilities’) and in Bank Stats (Table D5.2, Bank of England foreign currency liabilities, within ‘other liabilities’) published on the Bank's website. Such swaps do not form part of foreign exchange reserves.

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/bankreturn/2009/090121cs.pdf

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/ms/2007/Dec/tabd5.1.xls

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the UK authorities activated their swap arrangements with (a) the US Federal Reserve and (b) the European Central Bank on Friday 10 October 2008. (252757)

On 10 October 2008 the Bank of England entered into an $8.484 billion overnight swap and a $29.998 billion one week swap with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Details can be found in the Bank of England market notice ‘Result of US Dollar Repo Operations’ of 10 October 2008.

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/markets/money/documentation/usdreporesult081010.pdf

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) contractual and (b) informal swap arrangements there are between the Bank of England and (i) the European Central Bank and (ii) the US Federal Reserve; what estimate he has made of the proportion of the UK financial system's short-term liabilities which could be covered by such arrangements; and if he will make a statement. (252759)

The Bank of England has a contractual swap arrangement with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The existing swap line is such that there is no fixed limit to the amount of dollar liquidity that can be supplied to the system.

Details can be found in the Bank of England news releases ‘Coordinated Central Bank Action to Improve US$ Liquidity’ of 18 September, ‘Coordinated Central Bank Action to Address Pressures in Global Money Markets’ of 7 October, ‘US Dollar Repo Operations’ of 19 December, and market notice ‘US Dollar Repo Operations’ of 17 October 2008.

Private swap arrangements with other central banks may be put in place in appropriate circumstances, but the details may be kept confidential between the parties concerned.

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/news/2008/054.htm

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/news/2008/065.htm

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/news/2008/130.htm

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/markets/marketnotice 081017b.pdf