New Zealand central bank gives more liquidity to companies

[WELLINGTON] The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) said on Monday that it was deploying more tools to provide additional liquidity to the corporate sector and support market functioning to offset the impact of the coronavirus.

A new weekly Open Market Operation (OMO) will provide liquidity in exchange for eligible corporate and asset-backed securities, RBNZ said in a statement.

The OMO will be held each Tuesday and will offer up to NZ$500 million ($300 million) for terms out to approximately three months, it said. The first operation will be held on March 31.

The bank also said it will offer to purchase government bonds maturing on May 15, 2021, for liquidity management purposes. The offer opens on March 31.

REUTERS