give your best description of what money is.
write a brief summary of what “Crypto Currency” is.
Who is the treasury secretary of the United States?
What is the current interest rate for mortgages in the United States?
CHAPTER 3 – Financial Institutions and the Cost of Money
Businesses make their investment and financing decisions in a dynamic financial environment. Financial managers must understand the econ- omy, the role of government in the economy, and the markets in which financial institutions operate. We have already taken a look at the finan- cial markets in Chapter 2. Now we focus on other aspects of the financial environment. In particular, we examine the role of the following:
the U.S. Federal Reserve System in determining the money supply
the key role of financial intermediaries in the financial market with a
focus on two of them—commercial banks and investment banks
interest rates, the factors that influence them, and the cost of borrow-
ing.
THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
The United States has a central monetary authority known as the Fed- eral Reserve System. The Federal Reserve System (often referred to as the “Fed”) acts as the U.S. central bank, much like the Bank of England and the Bank of France are central banks in their respective countries. The role of a central bank is to carry out monetary policy that serves the best interests of the country’s economic well-being. Monetary policy is the set of tools that a central bank can use to control the availability of loanable funds. These tools can be used to achieve goals for the nation’s economy. Along with the U.S. Treasury, the Fed determines policies that affect employment and prices. The Federal Reserve System is comprised of 12 district banks, with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors overseeing the activities of the district banks. The members of the Board are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and each serves a term of 14 years, with terms staggered through time. The president also appoints the chairman of the board from among the members on the board. The chairman serves in this capacity for a term of four years. What’s the role of the Board? The Board creates rules and regulations that govern all depository institutions, as shown in Exhibit 3.1.
The Federal Reserve District Banks are not-for-profit institutions. Their responsibilities include (1) handling the vast majority of check- clearing in the United States, (2) issuing money, and (3) acting as the bankers’ bank, accepting deposits from other financial institutions
The Federal Reserve System consists of the Federal Reserve Banks and member commercial banks. All nationally chartered banks must join the system, but state-chartered banks may also join. A nationally char- tered bank is a bank that receives its charter of incorporation (its right to do business) from the federal government, granted by the Comptroller of the Currency; a state-chartered bank receives its charter from the state. The Comptroller of the Currency is a division of the U.S. Treasury and was established in 1863. The role of the Comptroller is to monitor peri- odically banks’ financial condition and compliance with regulations; states have similar agencies that monitor state-chartered banks. Because national banks represent the largest banking institutions in the United States, more than two-thirds of all bank assets are held by national banks.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is a policy making group within the Federal Reserve System. The committee is comprised of
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