Structure of Central Banks and the Federal Reserve System

Chapter 14 Structure of Central Banks and the Federal Reserve System Origins of the Federal Reserve System Resistance to establishment of a central bank Fear of centralized power Distrust of moneyed interests First U.S. experiments with a central bank terminated in 1811 and in 1836 No lender of last resort Nationwide bank panics on a regular basis Panic of 1907 so severe that the public was convinced a central bank was needed Federal Reserve Act of 1913 Elaborate system of checks and balances Decentralized Federal Reserve Banks Quasi-public institution owned by private commercial banks in the district that are members of the Fed system Member banks elect six directors for each district; three more are appointed by the Board of Governors Three A directors are professional bankers Three B directors are prominent leaders from industry, labor, agriculture, or consumer sector Three C directors appointed by the Board of Governors are not allowed to be officers, employees, or stockholders of banks Federal Reserve Banks (cont’d) Member banks elect six directors for each district; three more are appointed by the Board of Governors (cont’d) Designed to reflect all constituencies of the public Nine directors appoint the president of the bank subject to approval by Board of Governors Functions of the Federal Reserve Banks Clear checks Issue new currency Withdraw damaged currency from circulation Administer and make discount loans to banks in their districts Evaluate proposed mergers and applications for banks to expand their activities Functions of the Federal Reserve Banks (cont’d) Act as liaisons between the business community and the Federal Reserve System Examine bank holding companies and state-chartered member banks Collect data on local business conditions Use staffs of professional economists to research topics related to the conduct of monetary policy Federal Reserve Banks and Monetary Policy Directors “establish” the discount rate Decide which banks can obtain discount loans Directors select one commercial banker from each district to serve on the Federal Advisory Council which consults with the Board of Governors and provides information to help conduct monetary policy Five of the 12 bank presidents have a vote in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Member Banks All national banks are required to be members of the Federal Reserve System Commercial banks chartered by states are not required but may choose to be members Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 subjected all banks to the same reserve requirements as member banks and gave all banks access to Federal Reserve facilities Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Seven members headquartered in Washington, D.C. Appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate 14-year non-renewable term Required to come from different districts Chairman is chosen from the governors and serves four-year term Duties of the Board of Governors Votes on conduct of open market operations Sets reserve requirements Controls the discount rate through “review and determination” process Sets margin requirements Sets salaries of president and officers of each Federal Reserve Bank and reviews each bank’s budget Duties of the Board of Governors (cont’d) Approves bank mergers and applications for new activities Specifies the permissible activities of bank holding companies Supervises the activities of foreign banks operating in the U.S. Chairman of the Board of Governors Advises the president on economic policy Testifies in Congress Speaks for the Federal Reserve System to the media May represent the U.S. in negotiations with foreign governments on economic matters Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Meets eight times a year Consists of seven members of the Board of Governors, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the presidents of four other Federal Reserve banks Chairman of the Board of Governors is also chair of FOMC Issues directives to the trading desk at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York FOMC Meeting Report by the manager of system open market operations on foreign currency and domestic open market operations and other related issues “Green Book” forecast Go-round Current monetary policy and domestic policy directive “Blue book” Presentation on relevant Congressional actions Public announcement about the outcome of the meeting Chairman Runs the Show Spokesperson for the Fed and negotiates with Congress and the President Sets the agenda for meetings Speaks and votes first about monetary policy Supervises professional economists and advisers How Independent is the Fed? Instrument independent Goal independent Independent revenue Structured by legislation from Congress and accountable for its actions Presidential influence Influence on Congress Appoints members Appoints chairman although terms are not concurrent European Central Bank Patterned after the Federal Reserve Central banks from each country play similar role as Fed banks Executive Board President, vice-president and four other members Eight year, nonrenewable terms Governing Council Differences National Central Banks control their own budgets and the budget of the ECB Monetary operations are not centralized Does not supervise and regulate financial institutions Governing Council Monthly meetings at ECB in Frankfurt, Germany Twelve National Central Bank heads and six Executive Board members Operates by consensus ECB announces the target rate and takes questions from the media To stay at a manageable size as new countries join, the Governing Council will be on a system of rotation ECB Independence Most independent in the world Long terms Determines own budget Less goal independent Price stability Charter cannot by changed by legislation; only by revision of the Maastricht Treaty Central Bank Behavior Theory of bureaucratic behavior—objective is to maximize its own welfare which is related to power and prestige Fight vigorously to preserve autonomy Avoid conflict with more powerful groups Does not rule out altruism Case for Independence Political pressure would impart an inflationary bias to monetary policy Political business cycle Could be used to facilitate Treasury financing of large budget deficits—accommodation Too important to leave to politicians—the principal-agent problem is worse for politicians Case Against Independence Undemocratic Unaccountable Difficult to coordinate fiscal and monetary policy Has not used its independence successfully