South Korea–US currency swap

Conditions at the time

International financial turmoil spread to emerging economies, worsening dollar-funding conditions.

How events unfolded

The Federal Reserve and Bank of Korea announced a temporary currency swap of up to 300 hundred-million US dollars.

Stakeholders and impacts

The Bank of Korea was the counterparty supplying domestic dollar liquidity, while the Federal Reserve provided the inter-central-bank agreement.

Information available at the time

The Federal Reserve announcement was at 3:30 p.m. US Eastern time on 10/29, which was 10/30 in South Korea.

Findings confirmed later

The agreement was one of four new facilities established alongside Brazil, Mexico and Singapore.

Alternative interpretations and limitations

A ceiling does not mean full use. Changes in the won’s value or financial-market recovery are not attributed conclusively to this agreement alone.

Interpretation using later sources

The 2008 agreement provided temporary liquidity against dollar-funding stress. Subsequent Fed documentation records expiration of the crisis-era arrangements in 2010/2 and clarifies that dollars went to counterpart central banks, not directly to private banks. ASSETCASTING interpretation: A facility limit is neither actual borrowing nor an exchange-rate target. Separate purpose, access conditions and expiration rather than treating a swap as a permanent guarantee.

Evidence coverage through 2010-02-01 · Sources checked 2026-10-14

• Temporary reciprocal currency arrangements with Brazil, Mexico, Korea and Singapore ↗
• U.S. Dollar and Foreign Currency Liquidity Swaps — FAQs ↗

Related events and periods1

• Financial-crisis response and unconventional monetary policy →

  An event or period whose recorded start falls within this editorial interval. This does not establish that it caused or represents the characteristics of the era, nor guarantee that the entire period falls within the interval.