Money, Banking, and Financial Institutions

Functions of Money
Medium of exchange
Used to buy/sell goods
Unit of account
Goods valued in dollars
Store of value
Hold some wealth in money form
Money is liquid
LO1
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Money Definition
LO1
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What “Backs” the Money Supply?
Guaranteed by government’s ability to keep value stable
Money as debt
Why is money valuable?
Acceptability
Legal tender
Relative scarcity
LO2
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What “Backs” the Money Supply?
Prices affect purchasing power of money
Hyperinflation renders money unacceptable
Stabilizing money’s purchasing power
Intelligent management of the money supply – monetary policy
Appropriate fiscal policy
LO2
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Federal Reserve - Banking System
Historical background
Board of Governors
12 Federal Reserve Banks
Serve as the central bank
Quasi-public banks
Banker’s bank
LO3
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Federal Reserve – Banking System
Commercial Banks
Thrift Institutions
(Savings and Loan Associations,
Mutual Savings Banks,
Credit Unions)
The Public
(Households and
Businesses)
12 Federal Reserve Banks
Board of Governors
Federal Open Market Committee
LO3
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Federal Reserve – Banking System
LO3
The 12 Federal Reserve Banks
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Federal Reserve – Banking System
Federal Open Market Committee
Aids Board of Governors in setting monetary policy
Conducts open market operations
Commercial banks and thrifts
6,800 commercial banks
8,700 thrifts
LO3
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Federal Reserve Functions
Issue currency
Set reserve requirements
Lend money to banks
Collect checks
Act as a fiscal agent for U.S. government
Supervise banks
Control the money supply
LO4
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Federal Reserve Independence
Established by Congress as an independent agency
Protects the Fed from political pressures
Enables the Fed to take actions to increase interest rates in order to stem inflation as needed
LO4
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Financial Institutions
World’s 12 Largest Financial Institutions, 2009
Royal Bank of Scotland (UK)
Barclays (UK)
Deutsche Bank (Germany)
BNP Paribas (France)
HSBC Holdings (UK)
JPMorgan Chase (US)
Credit Agricole (France)
Citigroup (US)
Mitsubishi UFJ (Japan)
UBS (Switzerland)
ING Group (Netherlands)
Bank of America (US)
0 1.5 2.5 3.5
Source: Forbes Global 2000, http://www.forbes.com
Assets (Trillions of U.S. Dollars)
LO4
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The Financial Crisis of 2007 and 2008
Mortgage Default Crisis
Many causes
Government programs that encouraged home ownership
Declining real estate values
Bad incentives provided by mortgage-backed bonds
LO5
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The Financial Crisis of 2007 and 2008
Securitization: the process of slicing up and bundling groups of loans into new securities
As loans defaulted, the system collapsed
“Underwater” homeowners abandoned homes and mortgages
LO5
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The Financial Crisis of 2007 and 2008
Failures and near-failures of financial firms
Countrywide: second largest lender
Washington Mutual: largest lender
Wachovia
Other firms came close
LO5
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The Financial Crisis of 2007 and 2008
Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)
Allocated $700 billion to make emergency loans
Saved several institutions from failure
LO6
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The Financial Crisis of 2007 and 2008
The Fed’s lender-of-last-resort activities
Primary Dealer Credit Facility
Term Securities Lending Facility
Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility
Commercial Paper Funding Facility
LO6
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