什麼是聯邦準備系統

美國具有中央銀行作用的機構。根據「1913年聯邦準備法」建立，由該系統董事會、十二家聯邦準備銀行、聯邦公開市場委員會、聯邦顧問委員會所組成，自1976年起還設有消費諮詢委員會。所有國民銀行必須是聯邦準備銀行的會員；州銀行如符合會員資格，亦可成為會員。聯邦準備系統負責制定貨幣政策，原始法令規定了固定的準備金以符合美國的部分準備金銀行制度。准許每一區銀行決定自己的貼現率，貼現率是聯邦準備銀行對其會員銀行短期擔保貸款所收取的利率。現代聯邦準備系統是根據1935年的「聯邦準備法」來的，准許委員會決定在要求上限內準備金的多寡，變成要負責批准地區銀行的貼現率。最重要的是，法令創造了聯邦準備公開市場委員會，負責以增減商業銀行準備金的規模大小來指導金融市場的運作，如果聯邦準備系統放鬆貨幣政策，它就會使用公開市場操作，透過購買金融債券而增加準備金的量。相反地，如果要緊縮貨幣政策就要透過賣掉金融債券。

Federal Reserve System

U.S. central bank system consisting of 12 Federal Reserve districts with a Reserve bank in the principal commercial city of each district. The system is supervised by a board of governors in Washington, D.C., as well as various advisory councils and committees. As a result of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, all national banks are required to join the system; state banks may join if they meet membership qualifications. The Federal Reserve is responsible for monetary policy. The original act set fixed reserve requirements for the U.S. fractional reserve banking system. It allowed each district bank to determine its discount rate, the rate it charged on loans to member banks. The modern Federal Reserve resulted from the Federal Reserve Act of 1935, which allowed the board to determine reserve requirements within defined limits. It became responsible for approving the discount rates of the district banks. Most importantly, the act created the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee, which is responsible for conducting operations in financial markets that increase or decrease the amount of reserves in the system. If the Federal Reserve wants to ease monetary policy, it will use open-market operations and increase the amount of reserves through the purchase of financial assets. Conversely, it can tighten monetary policy through the sale of financial assets.