BOJ says enhanced dollar swap lines will ease strains in funding markets

TOKYO, March 20 (Reuters) - A decision by the world's major central banks to enhance their dollar swap lines will serve as an important backstop to ease strains in global funding markets, the Bank of Japan said on Friday.

"The swap lines among these central banks are available standing facilities and serve as an important liquidity backstop to ease strains in global funding markets, thereby helping to mitigate the effects of such strains on the supply of credit to households and businesses, both domestically and abroad," the BOJ said in a statement.

The central banks of the United States, the euro zone, Canada, Britain, Japan and Switzerland agreed on Friday to increase the frequency of their one-week U.S. dollars credit facility, they said in a joint statement. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Jon Boyle)