Graph 8  6  BIS central bankers’ speeches  European banks have also found it increasingly difficult to access US dollar funds, which they use to fund US dollar assets, including trade finance. Lending to euro-area banks by US money market funds has fallen by 55 per cent this past year.
In response, banks have turned to foreign exchange swap markets to source US dollars, pushing up the cost significantly (Graph 9). Graph 9  To alleviate the shortage of US dollar funds among European banks, the US Federal Reserve has re-activated its US dollar swap lines with a number of other central banks.