US dollar shortage in March threatened to spark off another financial crisis

Singapore

THE severe stresses in the global financial markets in just about two weeks in March were enough for the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to dust off contingency plans for another financial crisis.

It gives a sense of the "great anxiety and stress" that reflected a tightness in dollar funding not seen even in the global financial crisis - though decisive action by the US Federal Reserve in establishing swap lines with central banks such as MAS helped to turn that around.