Read the text and see if your ideas are right.
Every country's central bank watches economic data carefully and adjusts the money supply in an effort to keep the economy headed in the right direction.
Instead of taking deposits and making loans as normal banks do, a central bank controls the economy by increasing or decreasing the country's supply of money. Cranking up the printing presses is not the only way for a central bank to increase the economy's supply of money. In fact, in most modern economies printed notes and coins are only a small percentage—often less than 10 percent—of the money supply. The central bank usually prints only enough currency to satisfy the everyday needs of businesses and consumers.
Since most "money" is actually nothing more than a savings or checking account at a local bank, the most effective way for the central bank to control the economy is to increase or decrease bank lending and bank deposits. When banks have money to lend to their customers, the economy grows. When banks are forced to cut back lending, the economy slows.
Another way of controlling the money supply is to raise or lower interest rates. When the central bank decides that the economy is growing too slowly—or not growing at all—it can reduce the interest rate it charges on the loans to the country's banks. When banks are allowed to get cheaper money at the central bank, they can make cheaper loans to businesses and consumers, providing an important stimulus to economic growth. Alternatively, if the economy shows signs of growing too quickly, the central bank can increase the interest rate on its loans to banks, putting the brakes on economic growth.
Perhaps the most dramatic way of increasing or decreasing the money supply is through open market operations, where the central bank buys or sells large amounts of securities, such as government treasury bonds, in the open market. By buying a large block of bonds, from a bank or a securities house for example, the central bank pumps money into the economy because it uses funds that previously were not part of the money supply. The money used to buy the bonds then becomes available for banks to lend out to consumers and businesses.
If the central bank allows the economy to expand too rapidly by keeping too much money in circulation, it may cause inflation. If it slows down the economy by removing too much money from circulation, an economic recession could result, bringing unemployment and reduced production. A central serves as a watchdog to supervise the banking system, in most cases acting independently of its government to provide a stabilizing influence on the country's economy.
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The activities and responsibilities of central banks vary widely from country to country. For example, Britain's Bank of England is responsible for printing the money as well as supervising the banking system and coordinating monetary policy. In the United States, the duties of the central bank are divided among different agencies: the U.S. Treasury borrows the government's money through Treasury bond and note issues, while the Federal Reserve Board is put in charge of monetary policy and oversees the printing of money at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving.
The French central bank, the Banque de France, prints and issues the money, but the French treasury makes the decisions regarding monetary policy and bank supervision. In Germany, the central bank, called the Bundesbank, is noted for its active policy of strict monetary control, limiting money supply growth in order to control inflation at all costs.
The Bank of Japan, like many of the world's central banks, acts as banker to the government. This activity is a major source of revenue for the bank since fees are charged for issuing the government's checks.
1. Notes to the text:
to adjust – приспосабливать, регулировать
supply - поставка
loan - ссуда
coin - монета
currency - валюта
bond - облигация
recession - спад
unemployment - безработица
monetary - денежно-кредитный
revenue - доход
2. Match the following English expressions to their Russian ones:
1. the right direction a. валютная политика
2. taking deposits b. правильное направление
3. the government's checks c. текущий счет
4. monetary policy d. чеки правительства
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5. too slowly e. брать депозиты
6. checking account f. слишком медленно
3. Read the text again and answer the questions:
1. What are the main functions of the central bank?
2. In what way can the central bank control the economy?
3. In what way can the central bank control the money supply?
4. Do the activities and responsibilities of the central bank vary in different countries?
4. Agree or disagree with the following statements:
1. Central banks usually print only enough currency to satisfy the everyday needs of businesses and consumers.
2. Germany, the central bank, called the Banque de France, is noted for its active policy of strict monetary control, limiting money supply growth in order to control inflation at all costs.
3. When banks are allowed to get cheaper money at the central bank, they can make cheaper loans to businesses and consumers.
4. The best way of increasing or decreasing the money supply is through open market operations, where a central bank buys or sells large amounts of securities.
5. If a central bank allows the economy to expand too rapidly by keeping too much money in circulation, it may cause growth of economy.
5. Discuss in pairs:
1. Ways of money controlling by the central bank.
2. The activities and responsibilities of central banks in various countries.
Unit 5.
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