chapter 20 understanding movements in bank reserves

Chapter 20

Understanding Movements in Bank Reserves

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the Federal Reserve balance sheet and how changes in its assets and liabilities impact the money supply

• Explain how the U.S. Treasury Department’s spending decisions impact the money supply

• Understand the bank reserve equation• Define the monetary base

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Introduction

• The balance sheet of the Fed shows the movements of reserves in the system

• Very complicated since many things can impact the level of reserves– Open Market operations and Discounting– Other entries may offset movements in reserves– The Fed does not control many of these items– US Treasury can add or absorb bank reserves through

fiscal spending or tax revenue

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Introduction (Cont.)

• Bank Reserve Equation– The expanded view of reserve movements – A summary sheet for sources and uses of reserves– Useful for monitoring trends in reserves—

fundamental framework of monetary control.

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The Fed’s Balance Sheet• Table 20.1 is a simplified balance sheet of the

Federal Reserve System in mid-2003• Every item on the balance sheet (asset or liability)

has an effect on reserves– Total assets = total liabilities– Fed’s total liabilities include reserves—“bank deposits” in

the Fed plus cash in bank vaults – Therefore, bank reserves must equal total Federal Reserve

assets minus all other Fed liabilities – Anything affecting a Fed’s asset or liability must alter

reserves, unless it is offset somewhere else in the balance sheet

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TABLE 20.1 The Federal Reserve’s Balance Sheet (March, 2008, in billions of dollars)

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The Fed’s Balance Sheet (Cont.)

• ASSETS– Gold certificates

• Gold purchased from abroad or from domestic mines• US Treasury purchases gold with a check drawn on its deposit in

the Fed• To replenish its checking account with Federal Reserve, Treasury

issues a “gold certificate” and the Fed credits the Treasury’s deposit account by the same amount

• Federal Reserve assets have risen, but reserves are not affected (by this transaction) since a liability other than reserves (Treasury deposits) has risen simultaneously

• However, the net result of both the above transactions is an increase in bank reserves

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• ASSETS (Cont.)– Coins—Coins and bills issued by the Treasury that the Fed

has in its vaults– Loans—Bank borrowings from the Fed through the

discount window– Term Auction Facility (TAF)—Federal Reserve auctions

short-term funds to banks who can then deliver a wide variety of assets as collateral

– US government and agency securities• Securities acquired by the Fed through open market operations• Purchase of securities expands reserves• Sales of securities by the Fed lowers reserves

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• ASSETS (Cont.)– Items in process of collection

• Arises in process of clearing checks• “Deferred credit items” on the liability side. • The difference between the two is the “float”• Occurs because many checks are not collected within the specified

time period• Float can fluctuate considerably, either adding to or subtracting

from reserves• Can cause serious short-term disruptions in bank reserves• As the use of electronic payment systems increases, float will

diminish in size and importance

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• ASSETS (Cont.)– Other Federal Reserve Assets• Consists primarily of securities denominated in foreign

currencies• Purchases and sales of foreign securities usually occur

in connection with foreign exchange operations of the Fed

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• Liabilities– Federal Reserve Notes Outstanding

• Liability to the Fed, but an asset to holder of the currency• The change in this account does not alter bank reserves—notes

outstanding rises, bank deposits at Fed falls• Impacted by the decision of the public to hold more currency,

which lowers bank reserves.

– US Treasury Deposits—Represents the “working balance” of the Treasury reflected in spending and tax revenues

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The U.S. Treasury’s Monetary Accounts

• Purchase of gold– Treasury, not the Fed, that officially buys and sells gold for

the government– After purchasing gold by depleting reserves on deposit,

the Treasury issues an equal amount of gold certificates– The Fed purchases these gold certificates to replenish the

Treasury’s deposit account– When the Treasury buys gold, bank reserves rise and

when the Treasury sells gold, bank reserves fall

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The U.S. Treasury’s Monetary Accounts (Cont.)

• Changes in the Treasury’s deposits at the Federal Reserve banks will affect bank reserves

• Currency issued by the Treasury– The Treasury also issues a small amount of

currency, including all coins– There is no difference between currency issued by

the Treasury or Fed, all coins and bills in bank vaults count as reserves.

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The Bank Reserve Equation

• Table 20.2 shown in the textbook• Record of sources and uses of bank reserves• Primary difference between Table 20.1 and 20.2 is

the inclusion of Treasury currency in banks vaults which are counted as reserves

• Consolidation of the Fed’s balance sheet with Treasury’s monetary accounts

• Bank Reserves = bank deposits with Fed plus currency in bank vaults

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TABLE 20.2 The Bank Reserve Equation (March, 2008; in billions of dollars)

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Putting it all to Use

• In Chapter 18 it was assumed that the Fed could control the volume of reserves by judicious use of open market operations

• However, the reserve equation demonstrates that other influences outside control of the Fed can affect reserves

• These outside influences need to be forecasted and monitored to assist the Fed in controlling the level of reserves

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Putting it all to Use (Cont.)

• Defensive Measure– Fed engages in open market operations aimed at

defending a target level of reserves from “outside” influences.

– Offset transitory changes in reserves which are trying to push level of reserves outside the range desired by the Fed

– Extensive use of Repurchase Agreements as temporary injections or deletions of reserves

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Putting it all to Use (Cont.)

• Dynamic Measures—Open market operations aimed at either increasing or deceasing the overall level of bank lending capacity by changing the level of bank reserves

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Focusing on the Monetary Base

• What specific variable should the Fed attempt to control to regulate money supply?

• Control variable (operating target) is the immediate objective of open market operations

• It is suggested that the Fed should attempt to control the monetary base—total reserves plus currency held by the nonbank public.

• Reserve equation depicted in Table 20.2 can be altered to focus on the monetary base.

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Appendix

MONETARY EFFECTS OF TREASURY FINANCING

Appendix—Monetary Effects of Treasury Financing

• Budget Deficit—when government spends more than it receives in taxes

• Financing the deficit is the responsibility of the Treasury Department

• Could print money to pay the bills, but this responsibility falls under the Fed

• Treasury prints and sells bonds and uses proceeds to meet its obligations

• Debt financing/Treasury spending complicates Fed’s job of controlling money

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Appendix—Monetary Effects of Treasury Financing (Cont.)

• Taxation– When taxes are paid, demand deposits at

commercial banks are transferred from private sector to Treasury’s account

– Initially these funds are held in the Treasury’s accounts at commercial banks

– Money supply falls since government deposits are not counted in the money supply

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• Taxation (Cont.)– Total bank reserves fall when Treasury moves

funds from commercial banks to the Fed– Money supply and bank reserves increase to

original level when the Treasury spends the money

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• Borrowing from Nonbank Public– Rather than raise taxes, Treasury engages in

deficit spending— raising the money by selling bonds to the nonbank public.

– Selling bonds reduces the money supply as funds are transferred from the private sector to Treasury accounts

– Reserves also fall when the Treasury shifts funds from commercial banks to Fed

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• Borrowing from Nonbank Public (Cont.)– When the Treasury spends the money, both

money supply and reserves revert to their original level

– Public winds up with government bonds rather than a receipt saying they have paid their taxes.

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• Borrowing from Commercial Banking System– Banks, rather than the public, purchases bonds– Two possibilities

• Banks are fully loaned up– Must dispose of other assets– Reserves and money supply initially decrease, but are restored when

Treasury spends the money

• Banks have excess reserves– No need to dispose of other assets– Increases the money supply when the Treasury spends the money

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• Borrowing from the Fed– This method of borrowing does not reduce either

the money supply or bank reserves when the bonds are sold

– The Treasury sells bonds to the Fed which deposits the proceeds from the sale in the Treasury’s account

– When the Treasury spends the funds, both demand deposits and the money supply increase

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• Printing Money– If the Treasury could print money, it could deposit

the newly created currency with the Fed– When it spends the money, both bank reserves

and the money supply could increase– This method is virtually identical to the case of

borrowing from the Fed

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• Financing the deficit– Deficit must be financed by one of the above

options– Fed decides how much will come from new

money and how much must come through the sale of bonds to the public

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• Financing the deficit (Cont.)– Monetizing the Debt—Federal Reserve prints new money

to purchase the new Treasury bonds • Could make the Treasury’s job easier by printing money—very

inflationary• Congress created the Fed to keep the printing press from the

Treasury and force the Treasury to pay interest on its debt.• When the Fed monetizes the debt by buying Treasury bonds, it

lets the Treasury print money through the back door

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chapter 20 understanding movements in bank reserves

Documents

federal reserve balance

feds balance sheet cont

federal reserves balance

assets cont

balance sheet asset

simplified balance sheet

introductionthe balance

total federal reserve