A currency board is a monetary authority that issues notes and coins convertible
into a foreign anchor currency at a fixed exchange rate. The anchor currency is a
currency chosen for its expected stability and international acceptability. For most
currency boards, the U.S. dollar or the UK pound has been the anchor currency.
Also, a few currency boards have used gold as the anchor. Usually, the fixed
exchange rate is set by law, making changes to the exchange rate very costly for governments.
Put simply, currency boards offer the strongest form of a fixed exchange
rate that is possible short of full currency union.
The commitment to exchange domestic currency for foreign currency at a fixed
exchange rate requires that the currency board have sufficient foreign exchange to
honor this commitment. This condition means that its holdings of foreign exchange
must at least equal 100 percent of its notes and coins in circulation, as set by law. A
currency board can operate in place of a central bank or as a parallel issuer alongside
an existing central bank. Usually, a currency board takes over the role of a central
bank in strengthening the currency of a developing country.
By design, a currency board has no discretionary powers. Its operations are
completely passive and automatic. The sole function of a currency board is to
exchange its notes and coins for the anchor at a fixed rate. Unlike a central bank, a
currency board does not lend to the domestic government, to domestic companies,
or to domestic banks. In a currency-board system, the government can finance its
spending only by taxing or borrowing, not by printing money and thereby creating
inflation. This limitation results from the stipulation that the backing of the domestic
currency must be at least 100 percent.