The MNB held four tenders during the month, the last one on Friday, to ease end-of-quarter swap market tensions. It allotted EUR 1.61 bln of the swaps at the tender on Dec. 7, EUR 1.46 bln on Dec. 21, EUR 1.505 bln on Dec. 30, and EUR 817 million on Dec. 31.

All of the swaps mature on Jan. 6, 2022. The central bank started holding the end-of-quarter tenders in September 2020.

"The purpose of the [MNB]'s active market presence is to manage the effects of end-of-quarter tensions in swap markets, and thereby to strengthen the efficiency of monetary transmission and maintain price stability," the central bank said ahead of the latest quarterly tenders.