2010-09-16
In Vilnius representatives of ten central bankas are considering urgent issues of foreign reserve management
Today a conference of foreign reserve managers from the Central and East European central banks has begun in Vilnius and will last for two days.
Mr Arvydas Kregzde, Director of the Market Operations Department, greeted the conference participants and reminded that such first forum of central bank representatives of the Central and Eastern Europe had taken place thirteen years ago in Vilnius under the initiative of the Bank of Lithuania and afterwards the baton of the organization of such arrangements had been passed on to central banks of other states.
”At that time our level in foreign reserve investment was that of a primary school pupil, we persistently learned this job from more experienced colleagues and such conferences served this purpose.
Experts of the Market Operations Department of the Bank of Lithuania will deliver presentations on how the foreign reserve management policy of the Bank of Lithuania has changed in recent years and will also present the Treasury Risk Management Information System developed by the Bank of Lithuania.
Foreign reserves are reliable liquid foreign assets managed and invested by the Bank of Lithuania.
In the conference representatives from central banks of Lithuania, as well as Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Check Republic, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary are sharing investment experience and presenting novelties in their work. Although we do not differ from other central banks in terms of the style and quality of foreign reserve management today, it is useful to gather together once a year and discuss urgent issues, in particular in cases of investing in the environment of low interest rates and not easy profit”, said Mr Arvydas Kregzde. Representatives of all other central banks will deliver a presentation each on foreign reserve management.At the time the Bank of Lithuania started to manage foreign reserves, they made up USD 300 thousands.At the end of July this year official reserve assets accounted for LTL 15.9 billion (EUR 4.6 billion).
Mr Arvydas Kregzde observed that foreign reserves managed by ten central banks represented at the conference were equal to EUR 208 billion.