Shift to variable-rate format to cut lag effects of BSP actions

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expects shorter lag effects of policy rate actions with the shift to a variable- rate format in the auction for the overnight reverse repurchase facility beginning Sept. 8, an official said Wednesday.

“The lag effects of the policy rate can be shortened or [even] strengthened,” BSP Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. said in an online briefing Wednesday.

Dakila said data should be gathered first to really see the impact of the scheme on monetary policy lag. It could take around six to nine months for the BSP’s policy moves to fully work their way into the financial system.

The BSP said earlier the changes were part of the set of planned reforms dating back to the adoption of the interest rate corridor framework in 2016. They are largely operational in nature and do not constitute any shift in the BSP’s monetary policy stance.

“These initiatives are geared towards enhancing the transmission of monetary policy by strengthening the link between monetary policy strategy and implementation. The shift to the variable-rate auction format will also help strengthen the price discovery process by providing market participants and monetary authorities alike a market-determined interest rate that conveys the prevailing cost of and demand for overnight funds in the financial system,” the BSP said.

“With these changes, the BSP further aligns its implementation of monetary policy with the best practices in other jurisdictions,” it said.

Two key changes will be implemented in executing this shift to a variable-rate auction format. The BSP’s monetary policy rate will be called the “Target RRP Rate”. The BSP will signal its monetary policy stance through the Target RRP Rate.

The Target RRP Rate will be set after each meeting of the Monetary Board on the BSP’s monetary policy stance, and the RRP facility remains the BSP’s primary monetary policy instrument.

The BSP will also introduce a formal operational target, which will be called the “Overnight [ON] RRP Rate”. An operational target is a market-determined, short-term interest rate that central banks can guide on a day-to-day basis using their monetary instruments to reflect the prevailing monetary policy stance.

The shift to variable-rate RRP auction format will yield a market-determined rate for overnight funds, the ON RRP rate that conveys the results of the daily RRP auctions.