Category: Currency Board

Hong Kong has a currency board that maintains a fixed exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Hong Kong dollar. Hong Kong’s currency board has a 100% reserve requirement, so all Hong Kong dollars are fully backed with U.S. dollars.1 While the currency board contributed to Hong Kong’s trade...

Currency boards also have downsides. In fixed exchange-rate systems, currency boards don’t allow the government to set their interest rates. That means economic conditions in a foreign country usually determine interest rates. By pegging the domestic currency to a foreign currency, the currency board imports much of that foreign...

Currency board regimes are often praised for their relative stability and rule-based nature. Currency boards offer stable exchange rates, which promote trade and investment. Their discipline restricts government actions. Wasteful or irresponsible governments cannot simply print money to pay down deficits. Currency boards are known for keeping inflation under control....

Like most of the world’s large economies, the U.S. does not have a currency board. In the United States, the Federal Reserve is a true central bank, which operates as a lender of last resort. The exchange rate is allowed to float and determined by market forces, as well as the Fed’s...

Under a currency board, the management of the exchange rate and money supply are given to a monetary authority that makes decisions about the valuation of a nation’s currency. Often, this monetary authority has direct instructions to back all units of domestic currency in circulation with foreign currency. When...

A currency board is an extreme form of a pegged exchange rate. Management of the exchange rate and the money supply are taken away from the nation’s central bank, if it has one. In addition to a fixed exchange rate, a currency board is also generally required to maintain reserves of the...