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Central Banking
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the monetary base. Most central banks also have supervisory and regulatory powers to ensure the stability of member institutions, to prevent bank runs, and to discourage reckless or fraudulent behavior by member banks. Central banks in most developed nations are institutionally independent from political interference. Still, limited control by the executive and legislative bodies exists. Activities of central banks Functions of a central bank usually include: * Monetary policy: by setting the official interest rate and controlling the money supply; *Financial stability: acting as a government's banker and as the bankers' bank ("lender of last resort"); * Reserve management: managing a country's fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monetary Authority
In finance and economics, a monetary authority is the entity that manages a country’s currency and money supply, often with the objective of controlling inflation, interest rates, real GDP or unemployment rate. With its monetary tools, a monetary authority is able to effectively influence the development of short-term interest rates, but can also influence other parameters which control the cost and availability of money. Generally, a monetary authority is a central bank or currency board. Most central banks have a certain degree of independence from the government and its political targets and decisions. But depending on the political set-up, governments can have as much as a de facto control over monetary policy if they are allowed to influence or control their central bank. A currency board may restrict the supply of currency to the amount of another currency. In some cases there may be free banking where a broad range of entities (such as banks) can issue notes or coin. Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
