Which tool of monetary policy is?

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The Fed has traditionally used three tools to conduct monetary policy: reserve requirements, the discount rate, and open market operations. In 2008, the Fed added paying interest on reserve balances held at Reserve Banks to its monetary policy toolkit.

The most commonly used tool of monetary policy in the U.S. is open market operations. Open market operations take place when the central bank sells or buys U.S. Treasury bonds in order to influence the quantity of bank reserves and the level of interest rates. The specific interest rate targeted in open market operations is the federal funds rate. The name is a bit of a misnomer since the federal funds rate is the interest rate charged by commercial banks making overnight loans to other banks. As such, it is a very short term interest rate, but one that reflects credit conditions in financial markets very well.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) makes the decisions regarding these open market operations. The FOMC is made up of the seven members of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. It also includes five voting members who are drawn, on a rotating basis, from the regional Federal Reserve Banks. The New York district president is a permanent voting member of the FOMC and the other four spots are filled on a rotating, annual basis, from the other 11 districts. The FOMC typically meets every six weeks, but it can meet more frequently if necessary. The FOMC tries to act by consensus; however, the chairman of the Federal Reserve has traditionally played a very powerful role in defining and shaping that consensus. For the Federal Reserve, and for most central banks, open market operations have, over the last few decades, been the most commonly used tool of monetary policy.

To understand how open market operations affect the money supply, consider the balance sheet of Happy Bank, displayed in Figure 14.5. Figure 14.5 (a) shows that Happy Bank starts with $460 million in assets, divided among reserves, bonds and loans, and $400 million in liabilities in the form of deposits, with a net worth of $60 million. When the central bank purchases $20 million in bonds from Happy Bank, the bond holdings of Happy Bank fall by $20 million and the bank’s reserves rise by $20 million, as shown in Figure 14.5 (b). However, Happy Bank only wants to hold $40 million in reserves (the quantity of reserves that it started with in Figure 14.5) (a), so the bank decides to loan out the extra $20 million in reserves and its loans rise by $20 million, as shown in Figure 14.5 (c). The open market operation by the central bank causes Happy Bank to make loans instead of holding its assets in the form of government bonds, which expands the money supply. As the new loans are deposited in banks throughout the economy, these banks will, in turn, loan out some of the deposits they receive, triggering the money multiplier discussed in Money and Banking.

Where did the Federal Reserve get the $20 million that it used to purchase the bonds? A central bank has the power to create money. In practical terms, the Federal Reserve would write a check to Happy Bank, so that Happy Bank can have that money credited to its bank account at the Federal Reserve. In truth, the Federal Reserve created the money to purchase the bonds out of thin air—or with a few clicks on some computer keys.

Open market operations can also reduce the quantity of money and loans in an economy. Figure 14.6 (a) shows the balance sheet of Happy Bank before the central bank sells bonds in the open market. When Happy Bank purchases $30 million in bonds, Happy Bank sends $30 million of its reserves to the central bank, but now holds an additional $30 million in bonds, as shown in Figure 14.6 (b). However, Happy Bank wants to hold $40 million in reserves, as in Figure 14.6 (a), so it will adjust down the quantity of its loans by $30 million, to bring its reserves back to the desired level, as shown in Figure 14.6 (c). In practical terms, a bank can easily reduce its quantity of loans. At any given time, a bank is receiving payments on loans that it made previously and also making new loans. If the bank just slows down or briefly halts making new loans, and instead adds those funds to its reserves, then its overall quantity of loans will decrease. A decrease in the quantity of loans also means fewer deposits in other banks, and other banks reducing their lending as well, as the money multiplier discussed in Money and Banking takes effect. And what about all those bonds? How do they affect the money supply? Read the following Clear It Up feature for the answer.

Is it a sale of bonds by the central bank which increases bank reserves and lowers interest rates or is it a purchase of bonds by the central bank? The easy way to keep track of this is to treat the central bank as being outside the banking system. When a central bank buys bonds, money is flowing from the central bank to individual banks in the economy, increasing the supply of money in circulation. When a central bank sells bonds, then money from individual banks in the economy is flowing into the central bank—reducing the quantity of money in the economy.

The reserve requirement refers to the money banks must keep on hand overnight. They can either keep the reserve in their vaults or at the central bank. A low reserve requirement allows banks to lend more of their deposits. It's expansionary because it creates credit.

A high reserve requirement is contractionary. It gives banks less money to lend. It's especially hard for small banks because they don't have as much to lend in the first place. That's why most central banks don't impose a reserve requirement on small banks. Central banks rarely change the reserve requirement because it's difficult for member banks to modify their procedures.

Open market operations are when central banks buy or sell securities. These are bought from or sold to the country's private banks. When the central bank buys securities, it adds cash to the banks' reserves. That gives them more money to lend. When the central bank sells the securities, it places them on the banks' balance sheets and reduces its cash holdings. The bank now has less to lend. A central bank buys securities when it wants an expansionary monetary policy. It sells them when it executes tight monetary policy.

The U.S. Federal Reserve uses open market operations to manage the fed funds rate. Here's how the fed funds rate works. If a bank can't meet the reserve requirement, it borrows from another bank that has excess cash. The amount borrowed is called "fed funds." The interest rate it pays is the fed funds rate. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) sets a target for the fed funds rate at its meetings. It uses open market operations to encourage banks to meet the target.

Quantitative easing (QE) is open market operations that purchase long-term bonds, which has the effect of lowering long-term interest rates. Before the Great Recession, the Fed maintained between $700 billion to $800 billion of Treasury notes on its balance sheet. It added or subtracted to affect policy, but kept it within that range.

In response to the recession, the Fed lowered the fed funds rate to its lowest level, a range of between 0% and 0.25%. This rate is the benchmark for all short-term interest rates. The Fed then needed to implement QE as a secondary tool, to keep long-term interest rates low. As a result, it increased holdings of Treasury notes and mortgage-backed securities to more than $4 trillion by 2014.

As the economy improved, it allowed these securities to expire, in the hopes of normalizing its balance sheet. When the 2020 recession hit, the Fed quickly restored QE. By May 2020, it increased its holdings to more than $7 trillion.

The discount rate is the rate that central banks charge their member banks to borrow at its discount window. Because it's higher than the fed funds rate, banks only use this if they can't borrow funds from other banks.

Using the discount window also has a stigma attached. The financial community assumes that any bank that uses the discount window is in trouble. Only a desperate bank that's been rejected by others would use the discount window.

The fourth tool was created in response to the 2008 financial crisis. The Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, and the European Central Bank pay interest on any excess reserves held by banks. If the Fed wants banks to lend more, it lowers the rate paid on excess reserves. If it wants banks to lend less, it raises the rate.

Interest on reserves also supports the fed funds rate target. Banks won't lend fed funds for less than the rate they're receiving from the Fed for these reserves.

Central bank tools work by increasing or decreasing total liquidity. That’s the amount of capital available to invest or lend. It's also money and credit that consumers spend. It's technically more than the money supply, known as M1 and M2. The M1 symbol denotes currency and check deposits. M2 is money market funds, CDs, and savings accounts. Therefore, when people say that central bank tools affect the money supply, they are understating the impact.

Many central banks also use inflation targeting. They want consumers to believe prices will rise so that they are more likely to buy now rather than later. The most common inflation target is 2%. It's close enough to zero to avoid the painful effects of galloping inflation but high enough to ward off deflation.

In 2020, the Fed launched the Main Street Lending Program to assist small and medium-sized businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many of the Fed's other tools were created to combat the 2008 financial crisis. These programs provided credit to banks to keep them from closing. The Fed also supported money market funds, credit card markets, and commercial paper.

Monetary policy is a set of tools used by a nation's central bank to control the overall money supply and promote economic growth and employ strategies such as revising interest rates and changing bank reserve requirements.

In the United States, the Federal Reserve Bank implements monetary policy through a dual mandate to achieve maximum employment while keeping inflation in check.

Monetary policy is the control of the quantity of money available in an economy and the channels by which new money is supplied.

Economic statistics such as gross domestic product (GDP), the rate of inflation, and industry and sector-specific growth rates influence monetary policy strategy.

A central bank may revise the interest rates it charges to loan money to the nation's banks. As rates rise or fall, financial institutions adjust rates for their customers such as businesses or home buyers.

Additionally, it may buy or sell government bonds, target foreign exchange rates, and revise the amount of cash that the banks are required to maintain as reserves.

Monetary policies are seen as either expansionary or contractionary depending on the level of growth or stagnation within the economy.

A contractionary policy increases interest rates and limits the outstanding money supply to slow growth and decrease inflation, where the prices of goods and services in an economy rise and reduce the purchasing power of money.

During times of slowdown or a recession, an expansionary policy grows economic activity. By lowering interest rates, saving becomes less attractive, and consumer spending and borrowing increase.

Contractionary monetary policy is used to temper inflation and reduce the level of money circulating in the economy. Expansionary monetary policy fosters inflationary pressure and increases the amount of money in circulation.

An expansionary monetary policy decreases unemployment as a higher money supply and attractive interest rates stimulate business activities and expansion of the job market.

The exchange rates between domestic and foreign currencies can be affected by monetary policy. With an increase in the money supply, the domestic currency becomes cheaper than its foreign exchange.

In open market operations (OMO), the Federal Reserve Bank buys bonds from investors or sells additional bonds to investors to change the number of outstanding government securities and money available to the economy as a whole.

The objective of OMOs is to adjust the level of reserve balances to manipulate the short-term interest rates and that affect other interest rates.

The central bank may change the interest rates or the required collateral that it demands. In the U.S., this rate is known as the discount rate. Banks will loan more or less freely depending on this interest rate.

Authorities can manipulate the reserve requirements, the funds that banks must retain as a proportion of the deposits made by their customers to ensure that they can meet their liabilities.

Lowering this reserve requirement releases more capital for the banks to offer loans or buy other assets. Increasing the requirement curtails bank lending and slows growth.

Monetary policy is enacted by a central bank to sustain a level economy and keep unemployment low, protect the value of the currency, and maintain economic growth. By manipulating interest rates or reserve requirements, or through open market operations, a central bank affects borrowing, spending, and savings rates.

Fiscal policy is an additional tool used by governments and not central banks. While the Federal Reserve can influence the supply of money in the economy, The U.S. Treasury Department can create new money and implement new tax policies. It sends money, directly or indirectly, into the economy to increase spending and spur growth.

Both monetary and fiscal tools were coordinated efforts in a series of government and Federal Reserve programs launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.