Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Fed eliminates reserve requirements

As announced on March 15, 2020, the Board reduced reserve requirement ratios to zero percent effective March 26, 2020.  This action eliminated reserve requirements for all depository institutions.
https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/reservereq.htm

So that means that any US Bank has a license to print an unlimited amount of money.  The only constraint on this ability is the credit-worthiness of the borrower, because the bank has to eat the cost if the loan isn't paid back.  However, the FDIC will guarantee the deposits of any bank that goes under.  So if a bank goes bankrupt, this is a loophole.

Imagine a world where corporate tycoons and Wall Street Bankers had less than sterling characters.  It could never happen, right?  So picture this - you have Good Bank and Mega Corporation, which are both relatively decent and honest as capitalism goes.  Good Bank has a hidden affiliate called Bad Bank, and Mega Corporation secretly owns Rotten Corp.  Rotten Corp borrows millions, no lets make that billions from Bad Bank (remember this is no limit on the amount of loans that can be created).  Now imagine that Rotten Corp has to pay Mega Corporation millions annually for something, lets call it "intellectual property payments".  Finally, the inevitable happens.  Rotten Corp goes bankrupt and defaults on its loans from Bad Bank, Bad Bank goes bankrupt and is shut down and its depositors are bailed out by the FDIC. Everybody wins, right?  And what if Rotten Corp could keep borrowing money to cover its losses, you could keep the casino going forever, right?  Bail everybody out forever!

So its not just the Fed printing money, every bank in the country is printing money as well.
Let the Good Times Roll!

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