Instruments

Further information about Instruments

Our Instruments

Instruments Facility type Role in Monetary Implementation Purpose Features
Liquidity-Providing Collateralized Operations (LPCO) Short-Term Repo Key instrument (7D) and structural liquidity Used as both a liquidity-providing instrument and a reference asset
  • Weekly auction-based lending by NBC
  • Maturity longer than overnight, range from one week to six months
Negotiable Certificate of Deposit (NCD) Short-Term Central Bank Bills Floor rate; Standing Deposit Facilities and structural liquidity Absorb excess liquidity
  • Weekly auction-based
  • Issued in riel and USD with defined maturities
Marginal Lending Facilities (MLF) Standing Lending Facilities Ceiling rate Provide immediate liquidity
  • On-demand collateralized lending by NBC
  • Overnight maturity (with rollover)
  • Fixed interest rate forming the upper bound of the interest rate corridor
Open Market Operations Market-based purchase or sale of government bonds by NBC Fine-tuning instrument Liquidity management and complement key instruments to meet operational objective
  • Conducted day-to-day through buy and sell transactions in NBCP
Reserve Requirement Mandatory reserves held by financial institutions at NBC Address structural liqudity Support structural liquidity conditions and prudential objectives
  • Affects banks’ medium-term liquidity and lending
  • Adjusted infrequently compared with market operations
Foreign Exchange Spot Transaction FX spot FX intervention Maintain orderly FX market conditions and support macro stability
  • Affects liquidity in riel
  • Used selectively and not as a substitute for weekly liquidity management
FX Forward and Swap (In progress) Derivative transactions involving the future exchange of currencies Fine-tuning instrument Manage FX liquidity and smooth short-term currency mismatches
  • FX forward fixes an exchange rate and amount for future settlement
  • FX swap combines spot and forward legs
  • Used for liquidity management with predetermined bilateral obligations rather than exchange-rate guarantees

Monetary Instruments Description

NBC uses a suite of monetary tools to achieve its objectives:


a. Repurchase Agreement (Repos)

The Liquidity-Providing Collateralized Operations (LPCO) is a repurchase agreement (Repos) transaction of the National Bank of Cambodia used to provide liquidity in Khmer Riel to financial institutions to facilitate the management of liquidity and promote the use of Khmer Riel. Financial institutions can use Negotiable Certificate of Deposit (NCD), Government securities and Current Account at the NBC as collateral.


LPCO supports banks’ funding needs under normal market conditions, encourages collateralized interbank activity, and strengthens the transmission of monetary policy.


LPCO – Liquidity-Providing Collateralised Operations Liquidity providing in local currency

Key information

Purpose Liquidity providing in local currency.
Participants NBCP members that have signed the Repo Master Agreement with NBC.
Transaction type Repurchase agreement (repo).
Currency KHR.
Frequency Weekly.
Tenor 7 days, 91 days, 182 days.
Interest rate & allotment Determined by the Monetary Policy Committee.
Mechanism Auction.
Auction method Single-price Dutch auction, competitive bids.
Minimum bid amount 200,000,000 KHR.
Auction schedule Every Thursday (except holiday).
Operating process
  • Auction conducted through NBCP.
  • Session open from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM.
Result announcement
  • Immediately in NBCP for successful bidders.
  • Same day at 2:00 PM on the official website.
Settlement
  • Same day (T+0).
  • After NBC receives eligible collateral.
  • Settlement via KHR current account.
Eligible collateral
  • NCD.
  • Government bonds.
  • Balance in current account.
Haircut rate
  • 0% for KHR collateral.
  • 3% for USD collateral.

b. Central Bank Bills

The Negotiable Certificate of Deposit (NCD), a standardized securities with defined maturities, is a central bank bills issued by the National Bank of Cambodia that act as a monetary instrument to absorb liquidity from the banking system and is a financial instrument that is regarded as low-risk collateral. NCD is traded in secondary markets and are highly liquidity. They can be used as collateral for transactions, such as interbank lending or operations with the National Bank of Cambodia, including Liquidity Providing Collateralized Operation (LPCO), Marginal Lending Facility (MLF), and overdraft.


NCD – Negotiable Certificate of Deposit Central Bank Bills

Key information

Purpose Liquidity absorption.
Eligible Counterparties NBCP members and signed an Agreement on Securities Transactions with NBC.
Transaction type Central bank bill
Currency KHR And USD
tenor
  • KHR: 1 Week, 3 Months, 6 Months and 1 year
  • USD: 3 Months, 6 Months and 1 year
Interest rate and allotment Announce weekly by auction Committee
Mechanism Auction.
Auction method
  • Single-price
  • Dutch Auction
  • competitive bids
Value Per Unit
  • KHR: 1,000,000
  • USD: 1,000
Auction schedule
  • Weekly
  • Every Thursday (except holiday).
Operating process Auction process through NBCP Session open from 8:00am to 11:00am
Result announcement Same day At 2:00PM
Settlement
  • Same day (T+0).
  • At 1:45pm.
  • Settlement via Trading Account.

c. Standing Lending Facilities

The Marginal Lending Facility (MLF) is an on-demand facility that provides short-term liquidity needs to financial institutions at the moment of need with a fixed interest rate and has overnight maturity, which can be extended upon request. The MLF supports financial institutions to access and manage liquidity in KHR almost real time for their needs and helps maintaining interest rate stability.


MLF – The Marginal Lending Facility Liquidity Facilities

Key information

  • Next day, except rollrover
  • Current or Settlement Account
  • At 10:15am for Session 1
  • At 02:45am for Session 2
Purpose Liquidity providing.
Eligible Counterparties NBCP members that have signed the Repo Master Agreement with NBC.
Transaction type Standing facilities
Currency KHR
maturity
  • Overnight (1 day)
  • Rollover upon request
Interest rate Decided by the Monetary Policy Committee
Mechanism On-demand
Minimum Request Amount No
Maximum request amount Based on collateral value
Schedule and frequency of operations Twice daily
Operating process
  • Request through NBCP (MLF module)
  • Session 1: 8:00am To 9:30am. Settlement intraday at 10:15am
  • Session 2: 9:31am to 02:00pm. Settlement intraday at 02:45pm
Settlement Maturity
Eligible Collateral
  • NCD Or G-Bond
Hair Cut
  • KHR Collateral: 0%
  • USD Collateral: 2%

d. Open Market Operations (OMO)

The NBC conducts open market operations by buying or selling government bonds with market participants in the secondary markets. The NBC currently only transacts with securities that have remaining maturity under 90 days. The operations is conducted in the National Bank of Cambodia Platform (NBCP)



e. Reserve Requirement

Reserve requirements oblige financial institutions to hold a specified portion of their deposits as reserves at the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC). They serve both monetary policy and prudential purposes. As a monetary policy instrument, reserve requirements function as a structural tool that supports liquidity conditions in the banking system and complements market-based operations by influencing banks’ lending and funding behavior over the medium term. To support the use of the Khmer riel, the NBC applies a reserve-requirement averaging framework, which allows financial institutions flexibility in managing their day-to-day Khmer riel liquidity while meeting their reserve obligations over the maintenance period.


f. Foreign Exchange (FX) Intervention

The NBC may conduct foreign exchange interventions by buying or selling foreign currency to maintain orderly conditions and exchange rate volatility in the FX market. These operations are used selectively to address excessive volatility or market disorder that may have implications on domestic conditions.


g. FX Forward and FX Swap Operations (In progress)

The NBC may use FX forward and FX swap transactions to manage short-term foreign currency liquidity and smooth temporary imbalances in the FX market. These instruments involve the exchange of currencies at agreed dates and rates and are used for liquidity management purposes rather than to guarantee exchange rates. These instruments are being prepared to implement.