Japan and the Philippines renewed their Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA) effective January 1, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Monday.

The Bank of Japan, acting as agent for the Minister of Finance of Japan, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas signed the fourth Amendment and Restatement Agreement of the Third BSA.

The BSA is a two-way arrangement where both authorities can swap their local currencies in exchange for the US dollar.

The arrangement also enables the Philippines to swap the Philippine peso against the Japanese yen.

The size of the BSA remains unchanged, that is, up to 12 billion US dollars or its equivalent in Japanese yen for the Philippines, and 500 million US dollars for Japan.

Japan and the Philippines believe that the BSA, which aims to strengthen and complement other financial safety nets, will further deepen financial cooperation between the two countries and contribute to regional and global financial stability. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas