Are Banking Reserves Really Used or Required?
… role in money creation in the United States. As the Fed will provide the necessary reserves by making them available at the federal funds rate. The banks borrow from the Fed at a low interest rate and extend credit to their customers at a higher rate. Where the sleight of hand comes in is that the Fed itself creates the reserves out of thin air. These reserves are not real money kept in the commercial bank for paying depositors, they exist only as liabilities on the Federal Reserve Bank’s books. Pierre maintains that the rules accounts kept at the …