Some temporary liquidity facilities to be removed

The Reserve Bank – Te Pūtea Matua today announced that it will be removing some of the temporary liquidity facilities put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The specific measures include:

• The removal of the Term Auction Facility (TAF) where banks have been able to borrow funds for 3, 6 and 12 months using eligible collateral, including NZ Government securities, registered bank bills and Residential Mortgage Backed Securities (RMBS).
• The removal of the Corporate Open Market Operation (COMO) where banks have been able to borrow funds for 3 months using eligible collateral, including corporate securities and asset backed securities.

Head of Financial Markets Vanessa Rayner says, “Financial market conditions have improved significantly since March 2020 when these facilities were introduced and the usage of these special facilities has been very low in the last six months. In addition, the Large Scale Asset Purchase, Term Lending Facility, and Funding for Lending programmes have resulted in a significant increase in system liquidity and a lower cost of funding for banks.”

“The Reserve Bank will continue to monitor market conditions closely and is in a position to supply liquidity as required via its daily Open Market Operations or the reinstatement of these special facilities in the future if needed,” Ms Rayner says.

“This decision has no implications for the stance of monetary policy.”

The final TAF and COMO tenders will be held on 16 March 2021. For details on the Bank’s liquidity facilities refer to the Bank’s website.

For further information contact:

Media Contact:
Oliver Bates
Manager, External Stakeholders
DDI: +64 4 474 8627
Email: [email protected]