Fed Opens Swaps With South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Singapore

통화스와프...최대 수혜자는?

정부의 말처럼 한국은행과 미 연방준비제도이사회(FRB)가 30일 300억 달러 규모의 통화 스와프 계약을 체결한 것은 `가능성 제로(0%)'에서 일궈낸 개가다.

왜? FRB는 통화스왑을 받았주었나

스왑진실은 달러위본제가 무너지고 있다는 뜻이다. 달러 하락하면 미국채를 받아줘야 할나라가 있어야 하는데 미국의 리스크를 우방에게 같이 나누자는 뜻도 포함 되는 것이다

300억 달러 스왑은 우리 경제에 산소호흡기를 달았지만 생산성 유발하지 못하고 그날로 포식하면 또한 독이든 성배를 마시는것과 같다

한은은 FRB 자금을 외환시장 개입용으로 사용해서는 안 된다. 돈에 꼬리표가 달린 것이 아니지만 FRB는 이 문제에 깊은 관심을 보였으며, 우리 정부는 이 자금을 환율 조작 등 시장 개입용으로 사용하지 않겠다는 다짐을 해 준 것으로 알려졌다.

http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2008/10/31/2008103100109.html

Asian Stocks, Currencies Gain on Rates, Resources; Korea Jumps

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ahyhNoElaxHc&refer=worldwide

South Korea's Stocks, Won Gain After Fed Swap Deal

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aizXFYU5WXGA&refer=worldwide

South Korea Gets Dollars From Fed; Current-Account Gap Narrows

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aOlwzjjJCrDk&refer=worldwide

Fed Opens Swaps With South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Singapore

By Steve Matthews and William Sim

Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve agreed to provide $30 billion each to the central banks of Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and Singapore, expanding its effort to unfreeze money markets to emerging nations for the first time.

The Fed set up ``liquidity swap facilities with the central banks of these four large systemically important economies'' effective until April 30, the central bank said yesterday in a statement. The arrangements aim ``to mitigate the spread of difficulties in obtaining U.S. dollar funding.''

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is trying to prevent the global credit crisis from upending the financial markets and economies of developing countries, where currencies have plunged and government bond premiums have soared. The Fed yesterday cut its benchmark interest rate, followed by Hong Kong and Taiwan today.

``We can't leave these other important countries out in the cold,'' said Edwin Truman, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington and former chief of the Fed's international-finance division. ``A global recession is being caused by the effects of seizing up of the financial system around the world.''

South Korea's Kospi Index jumped, adding 3.8 percent at 9:39 a.m. in Seoul. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index added 4.6 percent yesterday, the highest in a week.

The Fed announcement coincided with a decision by the International Monetary Fund to almost double borrowing limits for emerging market countries while waiving demands for economic austerity measures.

The Fed and IMF actions ``show international resolve to support strong performing emerging-market economies adversely impacted by the current financial market turbulence,'' U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in a statement.

`Massive Demand'

Emerging-market investors have created ``massive demand for dollars and a reduction of liquidity in other currencies'' by going back to investing in the U.S. currency, said David Spegel, head of emerging-market strategy at ING Financial Bank NV in New York.

The Fed swap lines ``are designed to help restore liquidity so that a vicious negative spiral doesn't occur,'' he said.

The yield premium on emerging-market dollar bonds over U.S. Treasuries narrowed yesterday by 61 basis points, or 0.61 percentage point, to 7.21 percentage points, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s EMBI+ index. The spread has jumped 5.72 percentage points from a record low of 1.49 percentage points in June 2007, and reached its widest since 2002 earlier this month.

``The Fed is there to support large emerging markets that have done their homework over the past several years like South Korea, Brazil, Singapore and Mexico,'' said Alonso Cervera, a Latin America economist with Credit Suisse Group in New York. ``These are large, relevant emerging countries that have followed responsible fiscal and monetary policies for the past several years and now are going through tough times.''

The Fed also created this week a $15 billion swap line with its New Zealand counterpart and removed limits this month on four existing swap lines, including one with the European Central Bank. The Fed set up a $10 billion arrangement with Australia's central bank last month and then tripled it to $30 billion.

`Hoped-For Result'

``The hoped-for result is that we don't see the global financial crisis worsen still more,'' said Lyle Gramley, a former Federal Reserve governor who is now senior economic adviser at Stanford Group Co. ``The Fed is making dollars available to the central banks of these countries who are trying to meet the needs of their banking systems.''

The Bank of Korea cut interest rates by a record amount on Oct. 27 and the government pledged to guarantee local banks' debts to help lenders struggling to access foreign funds. Stocks and the won tumbled last week, prompting concern the country may face a currency crisis a decade after the IMF organized a $57 billion bailout to help repay overseas debt.

The swap line with the Fed ``will expand our foreign- exchange reserves and help stabilize the currency market,'' Bank of Korea Governor Lee Seong Tae told reporters in Seoul today. ``We'll also try to cooperate with other central banks to stabilize global and local financial markets.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Craig Torres in Washington at ctorres3@bloomberg.net; William Sim in Seoul at wsim2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 29, 2008 20:42 EDT

한-미 통화스왑 체결이 발표된 같은 시간, IMF도 집행이사회를 열어 경제 펀더멘털이 건전하지만 국제금융위기와 외부적 위험으로 일시적 달러 유동성 부족을 겪는 신흥시장 국가들을 지원하기 위한 단기유동성 지원창구(SLF:Short-Term Liquidity Facility)인 달러통화스왑 개설을 승인했다고 밝혔다.

이에 따라 신흥시장 국가들은 분담금의 최대 500%와 12개월 내에 3번에 걸쳐 자국통화를 제시하고 달러 자금을 인출할 수 있게 된다. 이에 따라 IMF 분담금 44억달러를 예치하고 있는 우리나라는 필요할 경우 최대 220억달러를 9개월간 만기연장 방식으로 사용할 수 있게 됐다.

이에 따라 한국은 FRB와의 통화스왑 협정과 IMF 창구를 모두 동원할 경우 `제2 외환보유고'를 520억달러나 순식간에 늘릴 수 있게 돼, 원-달러 환율 불안 해소에 크게 기여할 것으로 기대를 모으고 있다.

http://www.viewsnnews.com/article/view.jsp?seq=42146