A currency swap (or cross currency swap) is a foreign exchange agreement between two parties to exchange a given amount of one currency for another and, after a specified period of time, to give back the original amounts swapped. Currency swaps can be negotiated for a variety of maturities of up to 30 years. Unlike a back-to-back loan, a currency swap is not considered to be a loan by United States accounting laws and thus it is not reflected on a company's balance sheet.

The US government, during the current financial crisis has via the Federal Reserve given the go ahead to providing possibly trillions of dollars to the world banks and financial entities by funding central banks around the world should they wish to call on this "non loan, off the US balance sheet" technique.

The impact on the US money supply and real inflation will be devastating.

Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain.

March 2009.

Rabi` al-Awwal 1430.

http://www.hizb.org.uk.

http://www.financial-crisis.eu.