Exam 20: The Money Supply and Banking Systems

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The work of the Fed can be divided into three broad categories: (1)serving as a bank for the federal government and many commercial banks,(2)supervising and regulating many financial institutions,and (3)managing the nation's money supply by designing and implementing monetary policy.
As the "bank for banks," the Fed provides many of the services that a commercial bank provides to businesses and consumers.It also operates two electronic systems for transferring money between banks: one for large amounts of cash and the smaller automated clearing house (ACH)system for routine payments made by check.
The Fed monitors the operation of state banks that are members of the Fed system,all bank holding companies (companies than own multiple banks),and the U.S.operations of foreign banks.The Fed's key objectives are making sure that banks are financially sound and that customers' accounts are safe.Moreover,it has the authority to take formal or informal action against banks that are out of compliance with Fed guidelines.Two other important aspects of the Fed's regulatory mandate are approving bank mergers and acquisitions and implementing finance-related consumer protection laws.
Monetary policy is decided by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC),which includes the Fed's board of governors,the president of the New York City Fed,and 4 of the other 11 regional presidents.The three primary goals of maximum employment,stable prices,and moderate inflation are sometimes in conflict,so the FOMC faces a constant balancing act as it tries to optimize the overall results.