Anatomy of BoJ Foreign Exchange InterventionsThe Ministry of Finance is the authority tasked with conducting currency interventions in Japan, and it performs this task in cooperation with the Bank of Japan. Most of the time, the Bank of Japan conducts foreign exchange operations during Tokyo market hours (between 7 pm, and 3 am New York time), however if the initial intervention does not produce the intended goals, or if further interventions are deemed necessary to better communicate the Bank of Japan’s determination, the Bank will conduct intervention through the intermediation of European Central Bank in the early hours of the morning, in a mechanism termed “entrustment intervention”. Although the request is communicated by the BoJ, both the final decision to intervene and the details of the intervention are determined by the Ministry of Finance. The funds used in the intervention process are sourced from the Foreign Exchange Special Account.In the rare cases where foreign central banks desire to conduct interventions in Japan, the Bank of Japan will conduct the intervention on their behalf in a process called “reverse-entrustment intervention.The technical details of the intervention are planned and implemented by the Bank of Japan Forex division, and the Planning and Coordination Division of the International Department.The BoJ Forex Division is the analytical department of the bank in all issues related to foreign exchange markets. The Division constantly monitors developments in international markets, through public channels, as well as private communication and proprietary tools. The Forex Division then passes all the gained information to the relevant departments of the Ministry of Finance and the Policy Board of the Bank of Japan.In the cases where movements in the foreign exchange market are contrary to the interests of Japan (or as the bank states, FX movements are too volatile), the Ministry of Finance and the Bank contact each other over a hot line, where the central banks provides relevant information to the ministry. Thereafter, the separate forex divisions of the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan conduct negotiations on the time, size, goals, and effectiveness of the intervention, and reach an agreement which is then communicated to the Bank’s dealers. The intervention is thereafter executed through the various stages of bureaucracy and international markets.Funds used for intervention are obtained from the Foreign Exchange Fund Special Account consisting of forex , and yen funds If the yen is to be sold, the necessary amount is raised by the sale of Financial Bills. If a foreign currency is to be sold, reserves held at the Foreign Exchange Fund Special Account (FEFSA) are used. Funds held in the FEFSA have been accumulated partly through yen selling operations conducted in the past for the purpose of protecting Japan’s exporters. These funds are held in foreign government bonds, are utilized when intervention is necessary.Importance for Forex TradersAs the central bank of a major industrial nation, the Bank of Japan has a crucial role in maintaining the stability of the forex market, and international markets in general. It is also the key component of many trading strategies in the forex market where interest rate differentials are crucial. The carry trade, for instance, would be a less popular strategy if the interest rates of the BoJ were at ahigher level. While most young traders are unused to Japanese rates being anything but some fraction of one percent, before the Japanese Depression, the official discount rate could be as high as 9 percent, and commonly it was above five percent.Thus, low rates of the Bank of Japan have always been an important part of the modern financial world. The Bank of Japan maintains them for the purpose of preventing even deeper deflation and possible economic contraction in Japan.Apart from the low rates, the BoJ is also significant for its intervention policies, and its frequent sales of the yen for the purpose of propping up Japanese exporters who are often the main source of dynamism for the Japanese economy in the absence of any domestic vigor. Japanese interventions were much more common in the earlier part of this decade. But perhaps in an effort to give American attempts to force the Chinese to float the yuan greater credibility, the Japanese have toned down their interventions considerably in recent years.ConclusionThe Bank of Japan is like a sleeping elephant for forex traders. It is big, bulky and powerful, with massive amounts of reserves backing its decisions, but its room for maneuver is constrained by domestic and external factors. In the past it could cause a carry trade crash by raising rates, yet domestic sluggishness, and brief periods of deflation prevented it from doing so. It could also help the Japanese economy get out of its stupor by selling the yen and helping out exporters, but political reasons prevent it from being very active in this field as well. As of 2009, there is little sign that any of these factors will undergo great changes in the medium term. The Bank of Japan has great potential for causing major changes, but little interest in doing so.
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