Fed, Other Central Banks Make Move to 'Keep Dollars Flowing'

Hours after Swiss regulators coordinated an emergency UBS takeover of Credit Suisse, a coordinated global effort to keep US dollars moving through the global financial system was announced by a number of major central banks including the US Federal Reserve. "The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve, and the Swiss National Bank are today announcing a coordinated action to enhance the provision of liquidity via the standing US dollar liquidity swap line arrangements," they said in a joint statement.

As CNN explains, the recent bank failures and ensuing market turbulence has led to concerns that banks under increasing stress might make credit less available—and pricier—and this move is an attempt to make sure households and businesses can still access credit. Axios also has an explainer, noting that "in times of financial stress, global banks often become more reluctant to lend dollars to each other, creating additional tightening of global credit," and that this move is meant to increase availability of dollar swap lines, or agreements central banks make with each other to exchange currencies and then distribute the foreign currencies to commercial banks in their respective countries.

Meanwhile, the Fed will close a two-day meeting Wednesday with its latest decision on whether to keep raising interest rates in an effort to tame inflation, and by how much, the AP reports. (More Federal Reserve stories.)