(LEAD) BOK offers 5.2 tln won in its 1st QE operation

(ATTN: UPDATES with remarks from BOK chief in paras 6-8)

SEOUL, April 2 (Yonhap) -- The Bank of Korea (BOK) on Thursday provided 5.2 trillion won (US$4.2 billion) in the capital market in its first repo operation after vowing to supply an "unlimited" amount of liquidity against the new coronavirus pandemic.

The yield on the 91-day repurchase agreements was set at 0.78 percent, up 3 basis points from the base rate of 0.75 percent.

The BOK earlier said it will purchase entire amounts requested by financial companies for the next three months to help ease a liquidity crunch.

The de facto quantitative easing (QE) marks the first of its kind where the central bank will inject an "unlimited" amount of liquidity.

"It is hard to estimate how much liquidity will actually be supplied. But the plan is to supply the entire amount requested and without a limit," BOK Deputy Gov. Yoon Myun-shik said earlier.

BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said the central bank may consider providing liquidity to non-bank financial institutions if necessary.

"The Bank of Korea basically supports market stabilization through open market operations or banks, but it may consider ways to provide loans to non-bank financial institutions for market stabilization in case conditions further worsen," Lee was quoted as saying in a meeting with senior BOK officials.

"Only, it may not go off the boundary set by the law or be a special treatment for any specific company," Lee added, according to the BOK.

The BOK plans to conduct repo operations every Tuesday from next week.

bdk@yna.co.kr
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