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Chap 26

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MONEY, BANKS, AND THE FEDERAL RESERVE 223<br />

5. Figure 10.4 summarizes the Fed’s<br />

structure and policy tools.<br />

D. The Fed’s Power Center<br />

1. In practice, the chairman of the Board<br />

of Governors (since 1987 Alan<br />

Greenspan) is the center of power in<br />

the Fed.<br />

2. The chairman controls the agenda of<br />

the Board, has better contact with the<br />

Fed’s staff, and is the Fed’s<br />

spokesperson and point of contact with<br />

the federal government and with<br />

foreign central banks and governments.<br />

E. The Fed’s Policy Tools<br />

1. The Fed uses three monetary policy<br />

tools: the required reserve ratio, the<br />

discount rate, and open market<br />

operations.<br />

a) The Fed sets required reserve ratios,<br />

which are the minimum<br />

percentages of deposits that<br />

depository institutions must hold<br />

as reserves.<br />

b) The discount rate is the interest<br />

rate at which the Fed stands ready<br />

to lend reserves to depository<br />

institutions.<br />

c) An open market operation is<br />

the purchase or sale of government<br />

securities—U.S. Treasury bills and<br />

bonds—by the Federal Reserve<br />

System in the open market.

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