Powell Says Fed Will Keep Dollar Swap Lines Unchanged

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on 1 July that the U.S. central bank is making no adjustments to its dollar-liquidity swap lines with foreign counterparts. “Nothing has changed with regard to swap lines,” Powell told reporters, affirming that the facilities remain in place on their existing terms. The standing swap lines, which allow the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and several other monetary authorities to exchange their local currency for U.S. dollars, were made permanent in 2013 and expanded during the pandemic to ease global funding strains. Powell’s comments signal that the Fed sees no need to alter the program amid current market conditions.