The Federal Reserve System: The Third Central Banking System

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In 1913, the Federal Reserve system, the main banking system of the whole United States, was established. Back then, the United States citizens had no idea that the association would turn out to what it has. The Federal Reserve conducts open market operations to control the nations money supply. They fulfill these requirements on account of two specific groups. One is a federal government agency and is known as the Board of Governors, and the second is a constellation of twelve regional reserve banks. Today’s well known Federal Reserve System happens to be the third central banking system in the history of the United States. The first banking system of the United States was established in 1791 and lasted until 1811 and the second bank…show more content…
They move currency and coin into and out of circulation, and collect and process millions of checks each day. They provide checking accounts for the Treasury, issue and redeem government securities, and act in other ways as fiscal agent for the U.S. government. They supervise and examine member banks for safety and soundness. The Reserve Banks also participate in the activity that is the primary responsibility of the Federal Reserve System, the setting of monetary policy. (“The Federal Reserve Board”) For all sorts of purposes, these banks have been divided into twelve different districts. They reside in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas and San Francisco. These cities, however, are not just randomly selected. The President must take into account a “fair representation of the financial, agricultural, industrial, and commercial interests and geographical divisions of the country” (“Board”). This is to make sure that certain aspects from specific parts of the country are…show more content…
The Federal Open Market Committee is “the group that makes the key decisions affecting the cost and availability of money and credit in the economy” (“Board”). They congregate eight times throughout the year and discuss economic and financial conditions throughout the United States. They also discuss an action undertaken by a central bank known as monetary policy. Monetary policy is made up of three components: open market procedures, reserve necessities, and the discount rate. Open market operations are the United States Treasury’s and Federal agency securities’ purchases and sales. The objective of the open market operations is to discover a “desired quantity of reserves or a desired price (the federal funds rate)” (“Board”). The federal funds rate is the rate at which certain bank establishments are able to lend balances to the Federal Reserve to other particular banks overnight. It seems like such a great idea, but now a days, the Federal Open Market Committee is unsure about the risk it bestows to the extensive goals of price solidity and manageable economic
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