Central bank shores up Jamaican dollar
The Bank of Jamaica Thursday intervened to shore up the Jamaican dollar with the issue of a special two-year variable rate instrument to primary dealers and commercial banks as part of the bank's liquidity management strategy.
The Central Bank made the move after the value of the Jamaican dollar slipped again, edging just above 70 Jamaican dollars to buy one U.S. dollar.
The banks said the special instrument will be amortized in two equal tranches on Sept. 5, 2008 and Sept. 4, 2009 with quarterly interest payments. The initial coupon is 12.21 percent per annum, the bank said, with subsequent interest payments calculated at 2 percentage points above the Bank of Jamaica 90-day rate at the beginning of each quarterly interest period.
The bank said it will continue to offer its regular issues of certificates of deposit ranging from 30 days to 180 days.
