Money is the stock of assets used for transactions. It serves as a store of value, a unit of account, and a medium of exchange. Different sorts of assets are used as money: commodity money systems use an asset with intrinsic value, whereas fiat money systems use an asset whose sole function is to serve as money. In modern economies, a central bank such as the Federal Reserve is responsible for controlling the supply of money.
The system of fractional–
To start a bank, the owners must contribute some of their own financial resources, which become the bank’s capital. Because banks are highly leveraged, however, a small decline in the value of their assets can potentially have a major impact on the value of bank capital. Bank regulators require that banks hold sufficient capital to ensure that depositors can be repaid.
The supply of money depends on the monetary base, the reserve–
The Federal Reserve influences the money supply either by changing the monetary base or by changing the reserve ratio and thereby the money multiplier. It can change the monetary base through open-