As a rule of thumb, a country needs enough foreign exchange to cover three months' imports or to settle its short-term foreign debt.
Using the foreign exchange reserves to cover local government debts would also be extremely difficult for practical reasons.
Barclays has now put aside £2.05bn to cover foreign exchange settlements.
As India and other countries have emphasised, they have foreign exchange reserves that can cover six months of imports, which gives them some protection.
He said the bank remained profitable and had adequate capital to cover its foreign exchange risk, even in volatile countries like Romania.
These included discounts on shopping, entertainment, holidays, travel and insurance, preferential deals, access to exclusive airport lounges, home emergency cover, extended warranty cover and commission-free foreign exchange and travellers' cheques.
Because they leave no paper trail, hawala transfers are particularly useful in the layering phase: The system's legitimate ties with trade-intensive businesses like those of jewelry, import and export sectors, and travel and foreign exchange services, all provide a good cover for the critical interface between legal and illegal channels.
Foreign-exchange reserves cover just six weeks of imports.
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In the wake of allegations about foreign exchange manipulation, RBS set aside £334m to cover investigations and penalties.
