Five central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, announced on Monday, new measures aimed at thawing frozen credit markets and bolstering funding to banks.
The Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank said in a joint statement they will provide unlimited short-term U.S. dollar funds to financial institutions through tenders at seven-day, 28-day and 84-day maturities at fixed interest rates.
"Central banks will continued to work together and are prepared to take whatever measures are necessary to provide sufficient liquidity in short-term funding markets," the statement said.
To accommodate the operations, the Federal Reserve said it will increase the sizes of its temporary currency swap facilities "so that these central banks can provide U.S. dollar funding in quantities sufficient to meet demand."
The swap arrangements have been authorized through April 30, the Fed said.
The Bank of Japan said it is considering similar measures.