THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) raised P100 billion in its weekly securities auction.

The central bank’s one-month BSP bill was oversubscribed by 1.62 times the proposed volume of P100 billion, culminating in P162.51 billion in bids.

The weighted average interest rate on the 28-day BSP bill was 1.7602 percent, down from 1.7844 percent previous week. The accepted yields for the auction ranged from 1.7450 to 1.7705 percent.

“Looking ahead, the BSP’s monetary operations will remain guided by its latest assessment of liquidity conditions and market developments,” BSP Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. stressed earlier.

BSP securities is a monetary instrument issued by the central bank for its monetary-policy implementation and liquiditymanagement operations under the interest rate corridor framework.

Along with government-issued securities that may be exchanged for liquidity, the securities would add to the pool of risk-free assets in the financial system.

The issuing of such securities can help with greater price discovery for debt instruments and support monetary policy transmission through frequent auctions of BSP securities.

Republic Act 11211 or the “New Central Bank A of 1993,” reinstated the Bangko Sentral’s authority to issue negotiable certificates of indebtedness even in normal times. This was signed into law in February 2019.

Prior to the amendment, debt offers by the central bank were only permitted in the event of extreme price fluctuations.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno previously said that the monetary authorities were still looking for ways to strengthen the securities and make them more market-friendly.