Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for the invitation to discuss the proposed legislative changes in Bill C-74 to the Bank of Canada Act. Under section 18(d) of the act, the Bank of Canada has the authority to buy or sell securities issued or guaranteed by the government of t

Finance committee  The size of the exchange fund account is about $75 billion U.S.

Finance committee  No, the currencies that are held in it are U.S. dollars, euros, Japanese yen, and sterling. The euro-denominated securities would include countries such as Germany, France, and the Netherlands, but not all European members. We have an internal credit rating assessment group. Th

Finance committee  The Bank of Canada would be able to continue to purchase and sell securities issued or guaranteed by the United Kingdom, yes. Without the amendment, the United Kingdom is not in the current legislation specifically broken out from members of the European Union.

Finance committee  They're all investment-grade, fixed-income securities mostly issued by sovereigns, but there are some super-sovereigns and agencies as well.

Finance committee  That would be correct, yes, the bulk of the portfolio. There would be some issued by agencies or government-guaranteed entities, but this is an extremely liquid, very high-quality portfolio.

Finance committee  No, securities can go out to ten and a half years, but given the nature of the securities we purchase, a ten-and-a-half-year U.S. treasury, bund, OAT, or U.K. gilt would be extremely liquid.

Finance committee  Right.

Finance committee  That's correct.

Finance committee  Yes. The powers of the Bank of Canada are very specifically spelled out in the Bank of Canada Act and we cannot deviate from those at all. Specifically, the United Kingdom was included in the euro area countries. It may well no longer meet that definition, and this is a technical

Finance committee  The Currency Act stipulates that advances can go from the CRF to the exchange fund account, and from the exchange fund account to the consolidated revenue fund, so it does move both ways. Also, on the Bank of Canada's website we report the size and composition of the reserves o

Finance committee  These are financial assets. Translated to Canadian dollars, they represent over $100 billion in financial assets that would be an offset to come to the net debt amount.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  Yes, it's $105 billion Canadian equivalent.

Finance committee  On the Bank of Canada's website, we publish weekly, high-level updates of the size and currency composition. Monthly, more detailed reports are published on the Department of Finance's website, and on an annual basis there's the official report on the international reserves, whic