Central Bank liquidity management and “unconventional” monetary policies

Abstract

Central banks that work under an inflation-targeting regime generally use an interest rate as the main instrument to implement monetary policy. The latter can be denominated conventional monetary policy. Central banks often deviate from this practice, however, and engage in other policies to deal with particular situations. As these alternatives depart from the usual practice, they are generally labeled “unconventional” policies. During the recent global financial crisis and recession of 2008–09, central banks around the world and in Latin America, in particular, responded to external shocks in a variety of ways. Canales-Kriljenko and others provide a precise description of how different Latin American central banks reacted to the U.S. financial crisis shock in 2008, with an emphasis on the heterogeneity in the use of unconventional monetary policy instruments. For example, while Colombia and Peru lowered reserve requirements in their banking systems, the Central Bank of Chile relaxed the collateral requirements for repurchase (repo) transactions. Also, Chile and Peru extended the repayment period in repo transactions...