Japan's Special Funds-Supplying Operations (Japan GFC)

Abstract

Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, the global commercial paper (CP) market began to tighten as interest rates rose and investors sought more-liquid money market securities. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) introduced several measures in late 2008 to make liquidity available to nonfinancial corporations that were strapped for cash. In December 2008, the BOJ implemented special funds-supplying operations in order to provide unlimited liquidity to banks and other financial institutions so they could continue to fund nonfinancial corporations. The BOJ would provide one- to three-month loans against an equal value of eligible corporate debt at a rate equal to the target uncollateralized overnight call rate, which was consistently 0.1% throughout the operation’s lifetime. The short-term credit market gradually improved over the next year amidst consistent usage of the special operations. Approximately ¥38 trillion in loans were provided before the special operations ceased in March 2010. The special operations are viewed as relatively successful, as they contributed to shrinking CP spreads during the first few months of implementation and promoted new issuances of CP and other corporate debt.

Keywords: commercial paper, special operations, short-term financing, loans, Bank of Japan, Japan

JEL Classification: G01,G28