CLS Bank International is to settle payment instructions in four new currencies for the first time this week, bringing to eleven the total number of currencies receiving the FX risk reduction treatment.
Following regulatory approval, the Danish krone, Norwegian krone, Singapore dollar and Swedish krona join the Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, euro, Japanese Yen, pound sterling, Swiss franc and US dollar, as CLS Bank eligible currencies. The Hong Kong dollar, New Zealand dollar and the Korean won, which have been previously endorsed in principle by the CLS Bank Board, are expected to follow in 2004.
Since its launch a year ago this week, CLS Bank has settled 14 million payment instructions with a gross value of $160 trillion. The private sector operation says that 54 settlement member banks and 70 third party participants are currently using the system to settle on average over 80,000 instructions each day, with a gross value in the region of $1 trillion.