Mexico's central bank said on Monday it will from the third quarter of 2026 add purchases of short-term government securities to its arsenal of liquidity-management tools, a move officials say is aimed at improving money-market functioning and does not signal a change in monetary policy.
Banco de Mexico said it could carry out purchases of Treasury bills known as CETES and floating-rate bonds known as Bondes F in the secondary market when money-market liquidity conditions require it. The operations would complement existing tools used by the central bank to inject or withdraw liquidity from the financial system.
The announcement comes after Banxico recently modified its operational rules to allow for reverse auctions of government securities, opening the door for purchases alongside its existing ability to sell securities for monetary regulation purposes.
Deputy Governor Jonathan Heath, in an interview with El Economista published late Sunday, sought to dispel comparisons with the quantitative easing programs deployed by major central banks after the global financial crisis and during the pandemic.
"This is not a quantitative easing program," Heath said, adding Banxico would only be able to acquire CETES and Bondes F, which are short-term or floating-rate instruments, and only for the purpose of alleviating temporary liquidity shortages and ensuring the proper functioning of the secondary market.
Heath said the measure was not linked to concerns about potential volatility stemming from the review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, U.S. trade policy or geopolitical factors.
Banxico said any purchases would depend exclusively on its assessment of liquidity conditions and forecasts for the financial system.
"We do not buy assets from the government. We only buy short-term assets such as CETES and Bondes F that are in the hands of participants in the secondary market," Heath said.