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When commercial banks lend money today, they expand the amount of bank deposits in the economy. [20] The banking system can expand the money supply of a country far beyond the amount of reserve deposits created by the central bank, meaning contrary to popular belief, most money is not created by central banks.
However, because the depositor can ask for the money back, banks have to maintain minimum reserves to service customer needs. If the reserve requirement is 10% then, in the earlier example, the bank can lend $90 and thus the money supply increases by only $90. The reserve requirement therefore acts as a limit on this multiplier effect.
Alternatively, central bank may try to change the money supply by expanding or contracting the monetary base, which consists of currency in circulation (a very small amount, as does not include any funds held in a commercial bank, including current accounts) and banks' reserves on deposit at the central bank.
Through open market operations, a central bank may influence the level of interest rates, the exchange rate and/or the money supply in an economy. Open market operations can influence interest rates by expanding or contracting the monetary base , which consists of currency in circulation and banks' reserves on deposit at the central bank.
An easy money policy is a monetary policy that increases the money supply usually by lowering interest rates. [1] It occurs when a country's central bank decides to allow new cash flows into the banking system. Since interest rates are lower, it is easier for banks and lenders to loan money, thus likely leading to increased economic growth. [2]
The period when major central banks focused on targeting the growth of money supply, reflecting monetarist theory, lasted only for a few years, in the US from 1979 to 1982. [16] The money supply is useful as a policy target only if the relationship between money and nominal GDP, and therefore inflation, is stable and predictable.
The acceptance and value of commercial bank money is based on the fact that it can be exchanged freely at a commercial bank for central bank money. [20] [21] The actual increase in the money supply through this process may be lower, as (at each step) banks may choose to hold reserves in excess of the statutory minimum, borrowers may let some ...
Central banks implement policy primarily through controlling short-term interest rates. The money supply then adapts to the changes in demand for reserves and credit caused by the interest rate change. The supply curve shifts to the right when financial intermediaries issue new substitutes for money, reacting to profit opportunities during the ...