Monetary Integration and Foreign Exchange Reserves Management

The paper examines the management of foreign exchange reserves in countries under monetary integration. Central banks in European Union countries exert a major influence on global financial markets because they manage a common pool of foreign exchange, Młodkowski notes. Reserve assets are a crucial resource for common monetary and exchange rate policies. The paper aims to show the reasons for changes in the demand for and supply of foreign exchange reserves in a currency union and the experience in this area of four non-European currency unions, in comparison with the European Monetary Union (EMU). The author draws some interesting conclusions about the influence of monetary integration on both short- and long-term global interest rates. Because of different exchange rate regimes, the role of foreign exchange reserves differs in the analyzed currency unions. The paper offers a detailed description of institutional solutions for common monetary policy under a hard peg arrangement. Foreign reserves are of vital importance in such an arrangement. Młodkowski describes the potential benefits of reducing the total amount of retained reserve assets – which were previously held by national central banks in the euro area. He also examines some potential channels of global interest rate changes. “Increased demand for longer maturities, together with a drop in demand for the most liquid instruments, should have an impact on the term structure of global interest rates,” Młodkowski concludes