A liquidity measure that represents banks’ stock or holdings of liquid assets, (known as systemically liquid assets, SLAs) such as central bank reserves or high-grade government debt that can be easily used to settle obligations on due dates. These buffers include liquid assets used to meet specific liquidity measures such as the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) as well as additional bank-specific measures.

The stock of liquid assets held as a buffer serves to meet expected and unexpected cash flows and collateral needs without adversely impacting the bank’s daily operations.

Banks are required to hold adequate buffers against liquidity shocks. If applied at a macro level, these buffers are officially known as macro-prudential liquidity buffers (MPLBs).