Commercial Banks in Fiji will have to increase the amount of funds they deposit with the Reserve Bank of Fiji which has decided to increase the Statutory Reserve Deposit requirement to 10.0 percent.

The RBF said all licensed commercial banks in Fiji are required under Section 40 of the Reserve Bank Act to hold a proportion of their deposits and similar liabilities with the Reserve Bank.

This requirement is known as the Statutory Reserve Deposit or SRD.

The SRD currently stands at 7 percent.

Effective from 7 June 2010, the SRD requirement will be increased to 8.5 percent. The SRD requirement will be further increased to 10.0 percent, effective from 07 July 2010.

The Reserve Bank says it will continue to monitor the situation closely and introduce further measures when necessary.