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STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF A CENTRAL BANK: THE FEDERAL RESERVE EXPERIENCE Remarks by John P. LaWare Member, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to the International Conference on Russian Banking Moscow, Russia November 10, 1992 My role today is to discuss the design of a central bank. Establishing an appropriate structure for the central bank is one of the most important tasks a country can undertake in establishing governmental institutions. A properly designed central bank can contribute to an environment of monetary and financial stability that can promote sustainable economic growth. As your nation and many others continue the difficult process of perfecting the design for your central bank, we at the Federal Reserve stand ready and eager to assist you as best we can. I recognize that what is best for our country is not necessarily best for yours, but I believe our experience can be of use to you in the task that lies ahead. In establishing a central bank, important issues of function and structure must be addressed. These issues include: first, the degree of political independence of the central bank; second, whether the central bank has a clear mandate to pursue price stability; and, third, the responsibilities of the central bank. Should its duties be limited to monetary policy or should they also include bank supervision and regulation and payment system services? talk, I will focus again on these issues. Later in my But to provide a background for my discussion of these issues, I will first describe the institutional framework for central banking in the United States, beginning with a bit of history. During most of the first century and one half of U.S. history, the nation had no central bank. Early in its history, the United States did establish two institutions, the First and Second Banks of the United States, which performed some central banking functions. These banks were chartered for twenty years each in 1791 and 1816, respectively, but objections to the concentration of financial power in these banks led to failures to renew their charters. For the next seventy-five years, the nation's monetary policy was governed largely by various metal standards determined by the Congress. Partly as a result of the lack of central banking services, the nation was subject to periodic financial panics and, occasionally, to severe economic distress. Following a serious banking panic in 1907, during which many banks failed, political support for a central bank began to grow. In 1913, the Federal Reserve Act was passed by the Congress and signed into law by the President. The Federal Reserve Act stated several objectives that related to the earlier banking panics. They included furnishing an "elastic currency" that would expand when demands for money rose, providing liquidity to the banking system by rediscounting commercial paper, and improving the supervision of banking. A s a vehicle to achieve these goals, the Act created an independent central bank, whose structure I will now describe. Structure of the Federal Reserve System The Federal Reserve System has a complicated institutional structure that has evolved over time, and, while it works well in the United States, I would not suggest that its exact form is appropriate for every nation. The complexities arose in part because the Congress wished to avoid an excessive concentration of power in the central bank. As I noted, earlier fear of excessive power in the central bank led to the downfall of the First and Second Banks of the United States. As I will explain later, the complex structure also is somewhat of a historical accident. Congress, in 1913, did not anticipate the power of open market operations and did not at that . time provide a means for coordinating those operations among Reserve Banks. The principal components of the Federal Reserve System are twelve Federal Reserve Banks, a central Board of Governors to oversee their activities, and a committee to direct open market operations. Commercial banks may be members of the Federal Reserve System, and also participate in Federal Reserve activities in other ways, but they do not have a substantial role in governance of the System. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System has seven members, who are appointed by the President of the United States to fourteen-year terms; I am one of those members. Board members' terms are staggered so that one fourteen-year term expires every two years. Appointments to the Board must be confirmed by the Senate, providing the legislature as well as the executive a role in selecting monetary policymakers. A Chairman and a Vice Chairman of the Board are designated by the President from among the Board members for four-year terms. appointments also must be approved by the Senate. These The four-year terms are not tied to the four-year term of.the President of the United States. The duties of the Board are varied. The seven members of the Board constitute a majority of the twelve-member Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC. Reserve Banks. The other five members are presidents of Federal The FOMC has responsibility for open market operations, that is to say the purchase and sale of government securities in the open market to affect bank reserves. operations are the primary tool of monetary policy. Open market In addition to its membership on the FOMC, the Board of Governors effectively controls the interest rate charged on direct loans by the Federal Reserve Banks and sets reserve requirements as a percentage of various classes of deposits. It also establishes the System's policies on bank supervision and regulation and the payment system, and oversees the operation of the Federal Reserve Banks. The operations of the Federal Reserve System-are carried out by the twelve Reserve Banks. These Banks and their twenty-six branches are located in major cities around the nation. Each Reserve Bank is supervised by a board of nine directors, two-thirds of whom are elected by m e m b e r banks and one-third of whom are appointed by the Board of Governors. Each Reserve Bank is headed by a president who is the chief executive officer and a first vice president who is the chief operating officer. These officers are appointed by the boards of directors of the respective Reserve Banks, subject to the approval of the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors also approves the salaries of these officers and the budgets of the Reserve Banks. The executive and legislative branches of the government have no direct control over the appointments or compensation of Federal Reserve B a n k presidents. Although the Board of Governors has responsibilities for the discount rate and for reserve requirements, the m o r e important organization for monetary policy decisions is the Federal Open Market Committee. The original Federal Reserve Act did not provide for such an organization. Indeed, the Federal Reserve was in existence for more than a decade before the potential power and usefulness of open market operations were generally recognized. In the 1920s, the Reserve Banks began to coordinate open market operations through an informally organized committee that did not include members of the Federal Reserve Board. In 1935, an amendment to the Federal Reserv.e Act created the Federal Open Market Committee in its present form. Congress also provided for membership of commercial banks in the System. Nationally chartered banks, that is to say banks that received their charter from the United States government, are required to join the Federal Reserve System. Banks that received their charter from one of the fifty states are permitted to join the System voluntarily if they meet certain requirements. About 4,800 of the approximately 12,000 commercial banks are members of the Federal Reserve System. Since early in the 1980s, membership in the Federal Reserve System has not included some special benefits that it did earlier. For example, since 1981 Federal Reserve Bank services by law have been offered to all depository institutions on the same fee basis; previously some services had been provided without charge to member banks. Similarly, all depository institutions now are eligible to borrow at the discount window. However, the member banks do have the privilege of selecting two-thirds of the directors of the Reserve Banks, and perhaps there is a certain element of distinction in System membership. The Federal Reserve also makes use of several advisory committees. The Federal Reserve Act provides for a Federal Advisory Council, which consists of twelve members, one selected from each Federal Reserve district by the directors of its Federal Reserve Bank. This council meets four times each year in Washington and provides information and recommendations to the Board of Governors on economic developments and monetary policy. In addition, the Board has formed committees to obtain information and recommendations on developments in the thrift industry and on consumer affairs. Functions of the Federal Reserve System I shall turn now to the specific responsibilities of the Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve has been assigned responsibilities in three major areas: monetary policy, the payment system, and bank supervision and regulation. Monetary policy is conducted by the Federal Reserve, through open market operations, lending through the discount window, and establishment of reserve requirements, to foster the attainment of the nation's ultimate economic goals. The economic goals for the nation have been expressed in various pieces of legislation over time. Maximum employment and stable prices are now generally recognized as primary objectives of economic policy. In 1978, legislation was enacted that requires the Federal Reserve to announce annual targets for money and credit growth consistent with pursuit of these objectives. Turning from monetary policy to our second area of responsibility, the Federal Reserve has a dual role in the operation of the payment system: first as a direct participant and second as a regulator. Like most central banks, the Federal Reserve participates directly in the payment system by providing currency to the public and by providing accounts through which banking institutions clear payments. The Federal Reserve also handles about one-third of all checks cleared in the United States. Most of the remainder are exchanged at the several hundred local clearinghouses operated by commercial banks or are processed through the commercial correspondent bank system. The Federal Reserve also processes about half of all large electronic funds transfers and all transfers of U.S. government securities that are maintained on the Federal Reserve's electronic system for registering securities. Since 1981, the Federal Reserve has been required by law to charge fees for the provision of payment services to private banks to recover their full cost. The Federal Reserve's oversight role in the payment system is partly conducted through the commercial bank examination process. In the process of conducting exams, the Federal Reserve analyzes the safety and soundness of individual banks' provision of payment services. If unsafe or unsound practices are discovered, institutions are required by examiners to adopt corrective measures. The Federal Reserve also establishes and monitors various policies to reduce payment system risk. The Federal Reserve's third major area of responsibility is bank supervision and regulation. In the United States, several agencies share responsibility for regulation of depository institutions. At the federal level, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency regulate commercial banks. The Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union Administration oversee nonbank thrift institutions. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, consisting of representatives of these five agencies, coordinates their regulatory and supervisory activities. In addition to the federal regulatory bodies, each of the fifty states also has a banking supervisor. This is a patchwork arrangement, and I would not recommend it to other countries. It is confusing for the banks and difficult to administer. The Federal Reserve is the primary federal regulator for approximately 1,000 state-chartered banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System and for all companies that control banks. Companies that control banks are called bank holding companies. The Federal Reserve also regulates foreign banks, primarily through its. authority to approve the establishment of any foreign banking office in the United States and examine its operations. As a state bank regulator, the Federal Reserve adopts rules governing capital requirements, bank security, credit availability, payment practices, and the conditions and procedures for corrective action against troubled banks. The Congress also has authorized the Federal Reserve to implement a number of statutes to ensure that consumers have adequate information on banking services and are treated equitably in their dealings with depository institutions. As noted, the Federal Reserve has primary responsibility for regulating the activities of the holding companies that control U.S. banks. Two of the objectives of this activity are to prevent monopoly in banking markets and to limit the expansion of the activities of bank holding companies to those activities that are closely related to banking. It is interesting that in the United States, unlike many countries, commercial banks are prohibited by law from engaging in many types of securities and insurance activities. The Federal Reserve Board is also responsible for ruling on proposed bank mergers when the resulting institution would be a state-char.tered member bank. Bank supervision, in contrast to bank regulation, is concerned with ensuring the safety and soundness of individual banking institutions. The Federal Reserve has supervisory responsibility over: the domestic and international operations of all state-chartered member banks; Edge act and agreement corporations, which are U.S. companies providing financial services abroad; U.S. bank holding companies; and over most of the U.S. activities of foreign banking organizations. We carry out our supervisory responsibilities primarily through three sets of activities. These activities are: off-site surveillance and monitoring of institutions; on-site examinations of state member banks, Edge Act and agreement corporations, and bank holding companies; and enforcement and other supervisory actions. The on-site examination of a depository institution or bank holding company involves a number of activities. These activities include an appraisal of the soundness of the assets; an evaluation of internal operations, policies, and management; an analysis of capital, earnings, liquidity, and interest rate exposure; a review for compliance with banking laws and regulations; and a determination of solvency. If in the process of an examination the Federal Reserve determines that the condition of a bank or a bank holding company is not satisfactory, it will require that the institution implement measures to correct the situation. Remedial measures may include informal agreements between the institution and the Federal Reserve, , written agreements, orders to cease particular activities, management removal actions, and civil money penalties. Under authority conferred by the Congress in 1991, the Federal Reserve may also take a variety of actions against state member banks that do not meet.the Basle Accord minimum capital standards. Although my comments so far have primarily been directed at domestic aspects of the Federal Reserve's responsibilities, all three of its basic missions have important international applications. The United States is a large, open economy, with important trading and financial relationships with many countries. For that reason, providing for the exchange of information on foreign economic developments, analyzing such information, implementing appropriate international economic policies, and maintaining good international relationships are crucial aspects of ensuring satisfactory performance of the U.S. economy and the U.S. banking system. -10- Over time, the U.S. economy has become more subject to influences from abroad. W e live, after all, in a global economy. For that reason, changes in foreign economic conditions and policies may have important effects on U.S. economic performance, and the Federal Reserve takes those developments into account in determining monetary policy. Information on foreign economic developments and prospects is obtained from a variety of sources, including the Federal Reserve's staff, statistics provided by individual countries and international organizations, and from regular meetings with foreign policymakers in forums provided by international organizations. The Federal Reserve has special responsibility for foreign currency operations. As agent for the Treasury, which has responsibility within the executive for the conduct of international economic policy, the Federal Reserve may from time to time conduct intervention operations in foreign currency markets. The Federal Open Market Committee usually participates in those intervention operations for its own account, as well. Strengths of the Federal Reserve System I would now like to discuss and emphasize three features of the Federal Reserve System that I believe could usefully be imported by any nation establishing a central bank. These features are: its political independence; its focus on price stability; and its operating responsibility for monetary policy, banking supervision and regulation, and the payment system. First, independence. In designing a central bank, governments must balance the need for both independence and accountability. The architects of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 . were careful to construct an independent central banking system--one that would allow for central coordination without provoking fears of domination by special interests or partisan politics. As I mentioned earlier, the Federal Reserve was structured to allow a degree of participation by private parties, mainly through the activities of the Reserve Banks' boards of directors. The System's founders recognized that private bankers can offer industry experience, ensure a high degree of compliance with centrally determined policies, and provide resistance to excessive political influence. However, the Federal Reserve Act placed overall control of the System in the hands of the Board of Governors, who are government officials responsible for promoting the economic welfare of the nation as a whole. To help guard against benefiting one sector at the expense of others, the Federal Reserve Act required that the President, in appointing Board members, give due consideration to the interests of different commercial and industrial interests and to each geographical region of the country. The Act specifically requires that no two members of the Board come from the same Federal Reserve district. Just as important as independence of the central bank from special economic or geographic interests is independence within the government. The System is protected from excessive influence by the President through the provision of long, staggered terms for the members of the Federal Reserve Board and through membership on the Federal Open Market Committee of Reserve Bank presidents, who are appointed by Reserve Bank directors rather that the President of the United States. Independence of the central bank from the Treasury is of particular importance. Treasuries tend to have an inflationary bias because inflation allows them to monetize the debt that they are -12- charged with administering. As Nicholas Biddle, the president of the Second Bank of the United States once noted, "Large and habitual borrowers are not the best administrators of the funds-to be lent." Over the first forty years of its history, the Federal Reserve was less independent of the Treasury than it is today. During the System's first 20 years, the Secretary of the Treasury and the Comptroller of the Currency, another Administration official, held ex officio seats on the Federal Reserve Board. An amendment to the Federal Reserve Act, enacted in 1935, removed these two officials from the Board. However, wartime finance during the 1940s required the Federal Reserve to stabilize prices of government securities through its open market operations. It was not until 1951 that the Treasury and the Federal Reserve agreed that thereafter the Treasury would be solely responsible for debt management, freeing the Federal Reserve to conduct monetary policy in pursuit of overall economic goals. Today, the law helps enforce this distinction by prohibiting the Federal Reserve from purchasing debt directly from the Treasury. The Congress helped strengthen the independence of the Federal Reserve by exempting it from the appropriations process. Because the System funds itself from the earnings on the securities its holds, the Federal Reserve is not required to obtain congressional approval of its budget, and is therefore not subject to the considerable pressure that can be brought to bear during the budget process. Finally, by statute, the Federal Reserve has sole authority over its employment decisions, and its monetary policy function is exempt from audit by the General Accounting Office, which is an agency of the Congress. The Federal Reserve, however, is clearly accountable to the Congress for its actions. Board members testify frequently before the -13- Congress on the conduct of monetary policy, bank supervision and regulation, and payment system developments. And while it is not subject to congressional appropriations, the Federal Reserve does publish frequent financial statements and presents testimony to the Congress on its fiscal stewardship. The independent status of the Federal Reserve has permitted the pursuit of price stability free from excessive political intervention--the second feature of our system that I believe is worthy of emulation. Recent studies have shown that countries with independent central banks tend to have lower inflation rates than those that do not. The United States, with one of the world's most independent central banks, has maintained one of the world's lowest inflation rates over an extended period of time and one of the world's most productive economies. In recent years, the importance of price stability has become more widely appreciated in the United States as well as in many other countries. The relatively high rates of inflation during the 1970g gave rise to serious economic and financial distortions. These distortions and the economic costs of the inevitable correction during the 1980s and so far in the 1990s have convinced policymakers within the Federal Reserve and elsewhere that achieving and maintaining price stability is the most valuable contribution that a central bank can make toward the attainment of maximum sustainable economic growth. I might note that U.S. law sets objectives of both maximum employment and price stability. The law does not identify price stability as the sole objective of monetary policy. In the Federal Reserve's view, however, a reasonable degree of price stability is .a prerequisite for maximum sustainable economic growth. The Federal Reserve thus sees no conflict between these goals over the long run. -14- Nevertheless, there clearly are short-run political pressures for a central bank to monetize debt. Artificial stimulus can temporarily mask more serious underlying problems, and' the temporary benefits of stimulus tend to occur before the costs in terms of higher inflation rates are seen. Independence of the central bank and the appointment of central bankers committed to the achievement of price stability can help resist such pressures. A formal legislative mandate for the central bank to pursue price stability, however, might also be of significant value, and I suggest that you give this idea serious consideration. A third feature of the U.S. central bank is the Federal Reserve's assigned responsibilities for monetary policy, bank supervision and regulation, and the payment system. Every central bank has significant responsibilities for monetary policy and the payment system, but not all have legal responsibility for bank supervision and regulation. In my opinion, having joint responsibility for all three areas produces advantages, as information and experience gained in one area are useful in another. I will discuss five examples. First, the information flow obtained from bank supervision is useful in the conduct of monetary policy and the maintenance of the stability of the financial system. The qualitative information obtained from bankers through bank supervision is helpful in obtaining a complete understanding of developments in financial markets. This relationship was recently manifested in the Federal Reserve's efforts to deal with the so-called credit crunch, a popular term to describe constraints on the flow of bank credit. The Federal Reserve received through its monitoring of the banking system valuable information on -15- the causes and nature of the changing willingness to lend through the supervisory process. Second, the Federal Reserve in conducting its" responsibilities for bank supervision and regulation is able to encourage a safe and sound banking system. Safety and soundness in banking promotes the stability of the entire financial system and the economy. The Federal Reserve is uniquely positioned to ensure that regulatory and supervisory policies harmonize with the overall economic objectives of monetary policy. Third, the Federal Reserve is better able to deal with systemic financial problems because of the knowledge of the operations of the nation's largest banks and bank holding companies which it gains through its participation in the payment system. More specifically, the Federal Reserve is sometimes called upon to lend directly to a troubled institution in order to maintain financial stability. Through its participation in the payment system, the Federal Reserve sometimes will receive advance warning that such lending will be necessary and information about the circumstances that give rise to the need for the loan. The important decision of whether and how much to lend may then be made more quickly. The Federal Reserve also is able to monitor an institution's transactions, and their bearing on its financial condition, through the payment system. If the institution's problems should become critical, the Federal Reserve may be able to prevent disruption to the payments system resulting from troubles at a particular institution. Fourth, when troubles at a bank or holding company develop the Board of Governors' responsibilities in supervision are useful in the operation of the discount window. Discount window lending, if done imprudently, can expose the government to losses to the benefit of unsecured creditors. Supervisory data and experience can be brought to bear in evaluating the institution's situation and its prospects, and help the Federal Reserve reach a more informed decision about lending to it. Fifth, because banking has become a global business, central bankers must coordinate responses to economic developments around the world. In today's financial system of twenty-four-hour markets and huge transaction volumes, consultation and coordination among central banks are essential to ensure that any problems at a troubled bank can be isolated before they spread across borders. The Board of Governors' significant supervisory powers over U.S. bank holding companies operating abroad and the branches and agencies of foreign banks operating in the United States give the Board the knowledge required to determine the probable effects of one bank's troubles on international markets and to take steps to prevent market disruption. Maintaining Independence and Powers I will now make some comments about how a central bank can maintain these features of central bank independence, a commitment to price stability, and the valuable interrelationships among the various areas of responsibility. First, I advise you that the effort has as much to do with attitudes as it does with legislation. Even where a central bank has been granted independent legal status, the task of maintaining independence requires continuous effort. This effort is not limited to preventing repeal of the legal structures that establish de jure independence. As many of you are aware, the legal structure of a central bank is only part of the story when it comes to assessing the bank's independence. If a central bank has a tradition of independent action and popular support for its independence, then a legal -17- structure that places it under the nominal control of a finance ministry may not be significant. By the same token, an independent structure does not result in independent action if the" central bank succumbs to political pressure. Second, I believe that acceptance of a strong and independent central bank grows with experience. The Federal Reserve was fortunate to have public acceptance of its existence and independence early in its history. But this acceptance only followed the hard lessons of the failures of the First and Second Banks of the United States and the banking panics that resulted in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when the nation operated without a central bank. Third, I would emphasize that the acceptance of the central bank and its authority is to a certain extent within your hands. Not surprisingly, efforts to encroach on the Federal Reserve's independence have come most often when economic conditions are adverse. The best defense against such encroachments is sound policies that promote good economic performance. Policies oriented toward a prompt achievement of a reasonable degree of price stability are invaluable in securing such performance and public acceptance of independence. Even good economic performance, however, does not guarantee continued independence, and the Federal Reserve has been diligent in conducting its affairs professionally so as, like Caesar's wife, to be above suspicion. The Federal Reserve has remained staunchly non-partisan. That is not to say apolitical, because the Federal Reserve frequently may propose, support, or oppose legislation before the Congress. In those efforts, however, the Federal Reserve and its staff are always -18- careful to separate the legislation from the political party that may be supporting it, and to deal equitably with both political parties. The Board has also been careful to maintain its budgetary independence by publishing its financial statements on a prompt and accurate basis. In addition to government audits of its operations (except for open market operations), the Board subjects itself to a yearly audit by an independent accountant and submits the results to congressional committees. The Board's internal operations are also scrutinized by an independent Inspector General. The Federal Reserve has always committed to upholding the highest ethical standards. Federal Reserve staff are highly sensitized to avoid any action that carries with it even the appearance of impropriety. In a similar vein, we are careful to remain responsive to members of the executive and legislative branches, and to members of the public. Any inquiry from a member of Congress or a member of the public is answered quickly and completely. -Board members and staff always cooperate in Congressional investigations or fact-finding, providing technical information when necessary and testifying when asked. Concluding Remarks To sum up, I believe that the Federal Reserve's independence has been essential in conducting an appropriate monetary policy that generally has been focused on price stability and therefore has fostered good economic performance on balance since the System was established. In addition, I believe that the System's joint responsibilities for monetary policy, bank supervision and regulation, and the payment system reinforce each other. I urge that you, in developing an appropriate framework for central banking in this country, give serious consideration to these features. -19- Finally, I would like to express my appreciation for this opportunity to discuss these issues with you. As I mentioned at the beginning of my talk, I believe that establishing a strong, independent central bank is crucial in ensuring good economic performance, with benefits not just for your citizens but for the entire international economy. We in the United States look forward to working with you to reach this common goal and jointly realizing the rewards of a productive trading and financial relationship.
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