speeches · February 25, 1979
Speech
G. William Miller · Chair
For release on delivery
Expected at 10 a.tru E.S.T.
February 26, 1979
Proposals to Facilitate the Implementation
of Monetary Policy and to Promote Competitive
Equality Among Depository Institutions
Statement by
G. William Miller
Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
before the
Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
United States Senate
February 26, 1979
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Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, the nation's
financial system has been undergoing rapid change in recent years,
altering the competitive environment in banking and other financial
markets and complicating the Federal Reserve's alllit: to implement
monetary policy. These developments are well known to the Committee.
Nonmember depository institutions have been growing much more rapidly
than member banks. Transactions-type deposit accounts have become more
widespread at thrift institutions. And, in general, competition among
depository institutions and between those institutions and the open
market has become much more intense.
Increased competition enhances the efficiency of the financial
system. But, as a result, banks have been re-assessing their costs
and many have become less willing to bear the high cost of cash
reserve requirements associated with being a member of the Federal
Reserve System. Thus, there has been a steady—and in recent
years accelerating—decline in the proportion of bank deposits,
especially transaction deposits, subject to Federal reserve require-
ments. Moreover, the continued development of new transactions-type
deposits at nonbank depository institutions will further worsen this
situation.
DEVELOPMENTS WEAKEN MONETARY CONTROL
It is essential that the Federal Preserve maintain adequate
control over the monetary aggregates if the nation is to succeed
in its efforts to curb inflation, sustain economic growth, and
maintain the value of the dollar in international exchange markets.
The attrition in deposits subject to reserve requirements set by the
Federal Reserve weakens the linkage between member bank reserves and
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the monetary aggregates. As a larger and larger fraction of
deposits at banks becomes subject to the diverse reserve requirements
set by the 50 states rather than by the Federal Reserve, and as more
transactions balances reside at thrift institutions, the relationship
between the money supply and reserves controlled by the Federal Reserve
will become less and less predictable* and the instruments of monetary
policy will become less precise in their application.
Our staff has attempted to assess the extent to which growth
of deposits outside the Federal Reserve System would weaken the
relationship between reserves and money. Their tentative results
are shown in Chart I, which depicts the greater range of short-run
variability in M-l and M-2, with a given level of bank reserves,
that would develop as the per cent of deposits held outside the Federal
Reserve rises. As more and more deposits are held outside the System,
this chart suggests that control of money through the reserve base
becomes increasingly uncertain.
USE OF RESERVE REQUIREMENTS HAS BEEN RESTRICTED
With the proportion of banks subject to Federal reserve
requirements declining, the ability of the central bank to use changes
in reserve requirements as a tool of monetary policy has been increas-
ingly undermined. Changes in reserve ratios not only affect a smaller
proportion of deposits today than in the past, but the Board also
must weigh the potential impact of its actions on the membership
problem—and hence on its ability to maintain monetary control over
the longer run—each time it deliberates on the uses of this tool. Such
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concerns inhibit the Board's freedom of action to conduct monetary
policy. If reserve requirements were applied universally, as is
proposed in S.85, adjustments in reserve ratios to affect the
availability of credit throughout the country, or to influence
banks' efforts concerning particular types of deposits, may again
become a more viable monetary instrument. Moreover, while open market
operations in U.S. Government securities.currently provide the Federal
Reserve with a powerful policy instrument, it is possible that
conditions could develop in the future—such as a less active market
for U.S. Government securities in a period of reduced Federal
budgetary deficits—where more flexible adjustment of reserve require-
ments might become more necessary to control the monetary
aggregates.
... AS HAS BEEN THE DISCOUNT WINDOW
The effectiveness of the Federal Reserve's administration
of the discount window also has been potentially compromised by
recent developments. Membership attrition and the growth of trans-
actions balances at nonbank depository institutions have resulted
in a shrinking proportion of the financial system having immediate
access to the discount window on a day-to-day basis.
The discount window, as the "lender of last resort," provides
the payments system with a basic liquidity backup by assuring member
banks the funds to meet their obligations. But, if the proportion
of institutions having access to this facility continues to decline,
individual institutions could be forced to make abrupt adjustments
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in their lending or portfolio policies, because they could not turn
to the window to cushion temporarily the impacts of restrictive
monetary policies. Risks that liquidity squeezes would result in bank
failures could also increase. Thus, the Federal Reserve may find
that its ability to limit growth in money and credit in order to
curb inflation was being unduly impeded because the safety valve
provided by the discount window was gradually losing its effective
coverage.
... AND THE PAYMENTS SYSTEM FACES DETERIORATION
The growth of transactions balances at institutions that
do not have access to Federal Reserve clearing services also could
lead to a deterioration of the quality of the nation's payments
system. Reserve balances held at Federal Reserve Banks are the
foundation of the payments mechanism, because these balances are
used for making payments and settling accounts between banks.
Nonmember deposits at correspondent banks can serve the same purpose,
but as more and more of the deposits used for settlement purposes
are held outside the Federal Reserve, the banking system becomes more
exposed to the risk that such funds might be immobilized if a large
correspondent bank outside the Federal Reserve experienced substantial
operating difficulties or liquidity problems; A liquidity crisis
affecting such a large clearing bank could have widespread damaging
effects on the banking system as a whole because smaller banks might
become unable to use their clearing balances in the ordinary course
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of business. The Federal Reserve, of course, is not subject to
liquidity risk and therefore serves, as Congress intended, as a
safe foundation for the payments mechanism.
In sum, the major functions of the Federal Reserve System--
to conduct monetary policy in the public interest, to provide backup
liquidity and flexibility to the financial system, and to assure a
safe and efficient payments mechanism—all have been undermined by
recent developments. These developments include, as was noted
earlier, attrition in Federal Reserve membership and the spreading of
third-party payment powers to nonbank institutions.
DECLINE IN SYSTEM MEMBERSHIP
For more than 25 years there has been a continual decline
in the proportion of commercial banks belonging to the Federal Reserve.
The downward trend in the number of member banks has been accompanied
by a decline in the proportion of bank deposits subject to Federal
reserve requirements, as may be seen from Chart II. As of
mid-1978, member banks held less than 72 per cent of total commercial
bank deposits, down about 9 percentage points since 1970. Thus,
more than one-fourth of commercial bank deposits—and over three-
fifths of all banks—are outside the Federal Reserve System.
DUE TO THE EXCESSIVE COST OF MEMBERSHIP
The basic reason for the decline in membership is the financial
burden that membership entails. Most nonmember banks and thrift
institutions may hold their required reserves in the form of earning
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assets or in the form of deposits (such as correspondent balances)
that would be held in the normal course of business. Member banks,
by contrast, must keep their required reserves entirely in non-
earning form.
The cost burden of Federal Reserve membership thus consists
of the earnings that member banks forego because of the extra amount
of non-earning assets that they are required to hold. Of course,
member banks are provided with services by Reserve Banks, but the
value of these services is insufficient to close the earnings gap
between member and nonmember banks.
The Board staff estimates that the aggregate cost burden
to member banks of Federal Reserve membership exceeds $650 million
annually, based on data for 1977, or about 9 per cent of member bank
profits before income tax. The burden of membership is not distributed
equally across all sizes of member banks. According to staff estimates,
shown in the lower panel of Chart III, the relative burden is greatest
for small banks—exceeding 20 per cent of profits for banks with less
than $10 million in deposits. Further reductions of reserve require-
ments within existing statutory limits would do little to eliminate
the burden for most classes of banks, especially for the smaller banks.
INEQUITY OF COST BURDEN BORNE BY MEMBER BANKS
The current regulatory structure is arbitrary and unfair
because it forces member banks to bear the full burden of reserve
requirements. Only member banks must maintain sterile reserve
balances, while nonmember banks, which compete with members in the
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same markets for loans and deposits, and thrift institutions, which
increasingly are competing in the same markets, do not face similar
requirements* Thus, members are at a competitive disadvantage
relative to other depository institutions. Among the major countries
in the free world, only in the United States has this legislated
inequity been imposed on the commercial banking system. It is no
wonder that member banks continue to withdraw from the Federal
Reserve.
SPREAD OF THIRD-PARTY PAYMENT POWERS
At the same time, the spread of third-party powers to thrift
institutions is further increasing the proportion of transactions
balances outside the control of the Federal Reserve. Commercial
banks virtual monopoly on transactions accounts, maintained in the
past because of their ability to offer demand deposits, is being
eroded. Moreover, recent financial innovations have led to widespread
use of interest-bearing transactions accounts at both nonbank
depository insitutions and commercial banks. These developments have
increased both the costs and competitive pressures on banks, no doubt
compelling members to reevaluate the costs and benefits of member-
ship and thus playing a significant role in membership withdrawals.
The payments innovations since 1970 have received widespread
attention, and include limited pre-authorized "bill-payer" transfers
as well as telephone transfers from savings accounts at banks and
savings and loan associtions, NOW accounts at practically all
depository institutions in New England, credit union share drafts,
automatic transfers from savings deposits, and the use of electronic
terminals to make immediate transfers to and from savings accounts.
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Growth of these transactions-related interest-bearing
deposits has been most dramatic in recent years. For example, NOW
accounts in New England have grown from practically zero in 1974 to 8
per cent of the region's household deposit balances in mid-1978, as shown in
Chart IV, and one-third of these NOW deposits are at thrift institutions.
The intense competition engendered by the introduction of NOW accounts
has been accompanied by an acceleration of member bank attrition in
New England to a rate well beyond that of the nation, as shown in
Chart V. This increase in member bank withdrawals is clearly not
just coincidental.
There is no sign that the intense competition will abate.
As shown in Chart VI, savings accounts authorized for automatic
transfer have grown rapidly at commercial banks across the country
since their introduction November 1; and in New York, NOW accounts,
which were authorized November 10 for all depository institutions
in the State, have been increasing vigorously. In addition, the
Federal Home Loan Bank Board has announced its intention to authorize
savings and loan associations to offer Payment Order Accounts, or
POAs, which are interest-bearing deposits that can serve many of the
same functions as NOWs.
These developments have caused the distinctions among banks
and thrifts with respect to the "moneyness" of their deposits to
become increasingly blurred and have prompted the Federal Reserve
to reevaluate its existing measures of the monetary aggregates and
to propose redefinitions to reflect the changing institutional
environment. The most basic measure, of. transactions balances,
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Mhl, clearly should include more than just currency and commercial
bank demand deposits. And* the broader aggregates should be
redefined to emphasize distinctions by type or function of deposit
rather than by the institution in which the deposit is held. Changing
the money measures to reflect economic reality, including the wider
role played by depository institutions other than member banks in the
monetary system, would be complemented by legislation for universal
reserve requirements.
LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS POINT IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
The Board appreciates the priority attention given by the
Committee to the important issues of improving monetary control and
reducing the inequities in markets in which depository institutions
are competing. The legislative proposals set forth by Chairman Prcxmire
and Senator Tower represent constructive approaches. As was indicated
in the last session of Congress, the Board prefers the universal approach
of S.85c
This bill proposes universal Federal reserve requirements by
establishing reserve ratios applicable to all deposits at commercial
banks and to transactions balances at thrift institutions. The defini-
tion of transactions accounts includes not only demand deposits, but
also the growing number of new third-party payments accounts. Such an
approach puts all depository institutions of similar size on an equal
competitive basis in the market for transactions deposits. The exemption
from any reserve requirement of the first $40 million of transaction
balances at all institutions and the first $40 million of other deposits
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at commercial banks would eliminate the competitive burden of reserve
requirements on small institutions while increasing slightly from pre-
sent levels the proportion of commercial bank deposits subject to
Federal reserve requirements. This approach helps assure the continua-
tion of the reserve structure needed for the efficient conduct of
monetary policy.
Under this legislation thrift institutions with reservable
transactions accounts and all commercial banks would have access
to the Federal Reserve discount window. The Federal Reserve could
then act as a "lender of last resort11 to a broader class of
depository institutions and thereby enhance the overall safety and
soundness of the depository system, as well as providing more flexi-
bility to financial institutions to respond to changing monetary
policy.
The bill also gives all depository institutions access
to other Federal Reserve services. With the application of an appro-
priate price schedule for such services, this action would improve
the efficiency of the payments mechanism which underlies all of the
nation's ecnomic transactions.
But it should be emphasized that open access to System services,
desirable as it may be, is only practicable if the membership problem
is resolved, as S.85 does in principle. Without resolution of the
membership problem, open access for all institutions at explicit prices
would only exacerbate the problem and lead to even greater reduction
in the Federal Reserve's deposit coverage, since services would be
available to nonmembers that would not bear the burden of sterile reserves.
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Thus, as Senator Tower has recognized in his bill, a voluntary approach
to solving the membership problem must make it clear that the Federal
Reserve has the authority to continue to restrict access to System services,
BUT CERTAIN MODIFICATIONS OF S,85 ARE DESIRABLE
The various features of S.85 redress much of the growing
competitive inequity among financial institutions and provide a
framework for enhancing the implementation of monetary policy.
However* we believe that certain modifications are desirable in
order to exploit more fully the potential for improved monetary
control offered by this approach and to strike a better balance
among the legitimate concerns and interests of the various consiti-
tuencies affected by this legislative compromise.
First, while the $40 million exemptions in this legis-
lation would mean that the proportion of deposits subject to direct
Federal Reserve control would increase slightly from current levels *
we feel that there are important benefits for monetary control
in increasing that coverage even further. The Board has a proposal
which will provide additional coverage, and hence further enhance
monetary control, while at the same time preserving for all depository
institutions the earnings protection contained in S.85.
PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESERVE EARNINGS FOR EXEMPTED DEPOSITS
The Board's proposed modification involves establishment:
of an "Earnings Participation Account" which would result in more
institutions maintaining balances at the Federal Reserve; however,
their earnings capacity would be protected because the Earnings
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Participation Account would accrue interest at the rate earned by the
Federal Reserve on its portfolio of securities. To reduce the
record-keeping burden, small institutions could be excluded from
having to hold this account. This exclusion could amount to the first
$10 million of transactions deposits at each institution and $10 mil-
lion of other deposits at each commercial bank.
For banks, with respect to all deposits, and for other
depository institutions, with respect to transactions deposits, their
Earnings Participation Account would be held against deposits above
the $10 million exclusion and up to the amount of the exemption level,
which would be $40 million in the case of S.85. The size of this
Earnings Participation Account for each deposit category would equal
the reserve ratio applicable to deposits in this category times the
amount of deposit liabilities between $10 million and the exemption
level. To the extent that an institution holds vault cash in excess
of its required reserves on nonexempt deposits, the size of the Earn-
ings Participation Account would be reduced correspondingly.
The return on this account would be equivalent to the
average return on the Federal Reservefs portfolio, which includes
both short- and long-term securities. Some years this return might
be higher than banks would earn on other assets—which are likely
to be a combination of loans and liquid instruments—and some years
less. On average, over time, there should be little difference.
It should be noted that Senator Tower's S.353 does provide
for establishment of an Earnings Participation Account. However, the
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estimated cost to the Treasury of this bill is considerably greater
than other proposals being considered*
._._._ YIELDS EXPANDED COVERAGE, MORE EARNINGS PROTECTION
Chart VII compares the impacts of the Board?s proposal
with S«85 and with the current reserve system* As can be seen
in the upper left-hand panel, the Board's modification has
the advantage of increasing the proportion of commercial bank
transactions deposits covered by an account at the Federal Reserve—
from the present 73 per cent* and about 75 per cent under S*85* to
94 per cent. This would be accomplished even though the $10
million exclusion would mean that 45 per cent of all conmmercial
banks, as well as virtually all thrifts, would not be required
to hold any account at the Federal Reserve*
It is worth emphasizing that now is the appropriate
time to bring transactions-type deposits at thrifts under reserve
requirements. It will be several years, at leasts before any
sigxiificant number of thrift institutions would actually have to
hold non-earning reserves at the Fed, Currently, less than a
dozen thrift institutions have deposits in excess of the $40 million
exemption of S,85, and all have vault cash considerably greater than
the reserve requirement that would apply to such deposits.
RESERVE REQUIREMENTS
While the Board does not strongly object to the particular
reserve requirement ratios specified in S.85, it would, assuming the
other elements of the proposal are adopted, prefer somewhat lower
ratios, on average. Lower average reserve requirements on demand
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and time and savings deposits at commercial banks would provide for
more equitable treatment, as thrift institutions are not subject
to any reserve requirements on non-transactions deposits under the
proposed bill.
The exact set of reserve ratios that would balance equity
considerations against the loss of Treasury revenue and the need for
flexible and effective instruments of monetary policy is, of course,
a matter of judgment. There is much to be said for coisplete equality
of treatinent between banks and thrift institutions with respect to
reserve requirements* This approach would argue , on the one hand,
for reducing further the reserve requirements on all non-transactions
time and savings deposits at commercial banks, even to zero* But
such reductions would be very costly to the Treasury and would also
eliminate reserve requirements on time deposits as a policy instru-
ment; the flexibility to yary those requirements has proven
useful in the past as a means of influencing banks1 liability manage-
ment and international flows of funds*
Complete equality of treatment could also be obtained, on
the other hand, by imposing reserve requirements on thrifts1 time
and savings deposits that are the same as those borne by banks. But
this has the disadvantage of being very costly to thrift institutions,
who are, in any event, coming under earnings pressure in the current
period of relatively high short-term interest rates.
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Thus, the Board believes that the reserve requirement struc-
ture suggested in the House bill proposed by Representative Reuss (H«R*7)
may be a reasonable compromise. The Board also would not oppose an
increase in the exemption level to the $50 million in H«R»7, as long as
the modified bill included the establishment of an Earnings Participation
Account. With lower reserve requirements and a higher exemption level,
more commercial banks would effectively be on the same footing as the
thrift institutions with which they compete, in the sense that neither
would be forced to hold non-interest earning reserves against their
deposits. As shown in the right-hand upper panel of the chart, the number
of banks holding sterile reserve balances at Federal Reserve Banks would be
sharply reduced from the current level of 5,664 to an estimated 856 under
the Board modification* This number is somewhat lower than the estimated
796 banks which would be required to hold nonearning reserves at Federal
Reserve Banks under S.85.
The reserve requirement structures of S»85 and B«R«7 are:
Deposit Category Reserve Range (per cent)
__-__JLsiL^^ I AI
Transactions deposits 12 to 14 (13 initially) 8 to 10 (9.5 initially)
Short-term time deposits 4 to 8 ( * initially) 3 to 8 ( 8 initially)
Savings deposits 1 to 5 (3 initially) 1 to 3 ( 3 initially)
Long-term time deposits % to 2 (1 initially) 1 to 3 ( 1 initially)
The Board believes that it is particularly important to have a somewhat
lower reserve requirement on transactions deposits than under S.85 so
as to minimize the incentive for institutions to develop
roundabout methods for avoiding the requirement and thereby add to the
complexity of administering the reserve structure.
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EFFECT ON DEPOSIT COVERAGE AND BANK EARNINGS
The bottom panel shows that the Board's modified version of
S.85 would provide a greater earnings benefit to the banking system
than S.85. Attachment A presents a listing of individual member and
nonmember commercial banks and MSB's which would be subject to Federal
reserve requirements or would be required to hold an Earnings Participation
Account under S.83 as modified by our proposal. This listing is similar
to that shown on pages 11 to 183 of the Committee print, Summary of the
Monetary Policy Improvement Act of 1979« which showed the banks covered
uader S.85. An asterisk in the far right column indicates that it is
a bank added to the list by the Board's proposal—that is, it has deposits
above the excluded level but below the exemption level of S«85* These added
banks would hold an Earnings Participation Account at the Federal Reserve
and thus expand the Federal Reserve's coverage of deposits, but they
vould not hold any nonearning required reserve balance at Reserve Banks
because their deposits are below the exempted level. Banks without an
asterisk were on the Committee list before* Column 4—entitled EPA—shows
the amount of the Earnings Participation Account each institution would
hold* If this column is zero, the bank at the end of 1977 had sufficient
vault cash in excess of its required reserves that it would have had no
Earning Participation Account.
The additional institutions holding accounts at the Federal
Reserve would keep the earnings benefit of the exemption level proposed
by S.85, since they would participate in the Federal Reserve's earnings
on funds that they would be required to maintain in the Earnings
Participation Account. Moreover, the combination of the higher
exemptions and the different structure of reserve ratios in the modified
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bill means that any institution required to hold sterile reserves
would have its burden reduced relative to that of S.85. This structure
enhances the earnings capacity of all institutions and minimizes the
competitive burden on individual institutions.
In sum, the Board proposal would have the clear advantage of
expanding significantly the coverage subject to reserve requirements,
thereby enhancing the implementation of monetary policy. At the same
time, it would increase the earnings benefit for depository institutions
over those provided in S.85 at a modest additional cost to the Treasury.
Finally, exclusion of the first $10 million of transactions-type
deposits and $10 million of other deposits from any reserve requirement
would reduce the record-keeping burden of the proposal, with relatively
small policy impact*
TREASURY REVENUES
Based on the 1977 level of deposits, and assuming all the
provisions of the bill had been in effect for some time, it is
estimated that the provisions of S.85 themselves would reduce Treasury
revenues by about $60 million. This estimate allows for recapture by
the Treasury through tax payments by banks and stockholders of a portion
of the earnings benefits accruing to banks.
The Board1s modification would have a somewhat larger impact
on Treasury revenues than S. 85 but still keeps the cost within reason-
able bounds. It is estimated that the net cost to the Treasury would be
about $173 million.
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It must be stressed, however, that in the absence of legis-
lation to stop membership attrition, the Federal Reserve will lose
increasing amounts of revenue over time as member banks leave the
System. Thus, after making allowance for the loss of Federal Reserve
revenues from continued attrition that would otherwise be occurring,
these proposals would result in little, if any, net cost to the Treasury
in the future. Moreover, in the first three years after the program is
implemented the Treasury will not incur any loss in revenue because the
Federal Reserve intends to transfer a sufficient portion of its earned
surplus to maintain net Treasury revenues during this period.
Attachment B provides language for a series of amendments
to S.85 that would implement the various aspects of the Board's proposed
modification.
ADDITIONAL MODIFICATIONS
Another modification proposed by the Board concerns the
pricing of Federal Reserve System services. The System has already
expended considerable effort in formulating pricing principles and
in developing pricing alternatives for the services we provide. A
preliminary schedule of prices for check and automated clearing
house services was announced last November. Price schedules for
other Federal Reserve services, such as coin and currency services,
wire transfers and the safekeeping of securities, are under con-
sideration. Although we intend to implement service charges as
rapidly as we can after the membership problem is solved, we believe
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that the July 1, 1980 implementation date set in S.85 may not afford
sufficient flexibility to develop a well designed system* An amend-
ment which would eliminate the fixed date and thus provide the necessary
flexibility is presented in Attachment C. Additional more technical
amendments to clarify reporting requirements, access to the discount
window^ and the application of reserve requirements to foreign obliga-
tions of banks and to conform other provisions of the Federal Reserve
s
Act, also are attached for the Committee8s consideration•
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the
Federal Reservefs view on the Monetary Policy Improvement Act of 1979.
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Chart I
Effect of Member Bank Attrition On Short-Run Predictability of Monetary Aggregates
Absolute Range of Unpredictable Variability in Two-month Growth Rates
Percentage points
20
15
10
0 20 40 60 80 100
Per cent of Bank Deposits Not Subject to Reserve Requirements
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Chart E
Percentage of U.S. Commercial Banks and
Deposits in the Federal Reserve System
Per cent
90
80
DEPOSITS
70
60
50
BANKS
40
T
1 1 J i ll | _ 1 _ J _ 1 _1 J i ll II
1961 1965 1969 1973 1977
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Charts
Estimated Burden of Federal Reserve Membership
AGGREGATE BURDEN, 1977 Millions of dollars
300
200
100
AGGREGATE BURDEN AS PERCENT OF
ESTIM/sO"ED 1977 DOMESTIC PRE-TAX EARNINGS Per c
30
20
— —
l|'77 i
|l ; I lillji
j
!i nrn 10
i
i
Mi II
! j ! 1 i
! ; '• \ i
1 i I
ill II
i
I
i
i
1 1 _J J l
!
I L
...._!_„„
0—10 10—50 50—100 100—500 500—1000 Over 1000
Bank size classftotal deposits, millions of dollars)
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Chart EZ
NOW Accounts as Percentage of
Household Deposit Balances in New England
Per cent
1974 1975 1976 1977 1978
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Chart 3t
Percentage of New England Commercial Banks and
Deposits in the Federal Reserve System
Percent
190
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i
1961 1963 1965 1967 1969 1971 1973 1975 1977
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Chart 3ZT
Rapid Growth of ATS Accounts Nationwide
and NOW Accounts in New York State
Billions of dollars
1 2
_I_J«
6 15 22 13 20 27 10 17 24 31 7 1<
November December January Febru£iy
r*" HOW a:-:t?unt authorization not effective until November 10.
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Chart 3ZK
Effects of Proposals on Commercial Banks
Banks holding non-earning
Transactions deposits covered Per cent reserve balances at F.R. Banks
100
80 —
60 —
40 — 5664
20 ——
796
. L
i
i
i
i
i
i
—
11 rt>bt>
I
Current S.85 Modified S.85
Earnings gain from net
reduction in non-earning
balances
—
—
1
1
1
1
1
Revenue from Earnings
Participation Account
ill 1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Per cent
100
— 80
60
— 40
— 20
Current S.85 Modified S.85
Billions of dollars
— 800
— 600
— 400
— 200
S.85 Modified S.85
Based on December 1977 deposits.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Attachment A to
Proposals to Facilitate the Implementation
of Monetary Policy and to Promote Competitive
Equality Among Depository Institutions
Statement by
G. William Miller
Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
before the
Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
United States Senate
February 26, 1979
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Attachment A
Benefit to Banks Covered by Modified S.85
Key to Column Headings
(1) TDEP Total domestic deposits as of the end of 1977.
(2) VLTCSH Vault cash as of the end of 1977.
(3) 1977 REQBAL Estimated amount of reserve balances as of the end of
1977 required by current law to be held at Federal
Reserve Banks (i.e., required reserves minus vault
cash).
(4) NEW EPA Amount that would have been held in Earnings Parti-
cipation Account at the end of 1977 under modified
S.85.
(5) NEW REQBAL New required reserves minus vault cash that would
have been held at the F.R. Banks under modified
S.85.
(6) DIF Reduction in non-earnings required reserve balances
at Federal Reserve Banks that would have been held
under modified S.85. A negative amount represents
an increase.
(7) * A bank covered by modified S.85 but not by S.85.
Examples for Member Banks
(A) The table shows that the first bank listed, Albertsville National Bank,
had deposits of $21,933,000 in December 1977. Vault cash amounted to
$366,000, and required non-earning balances at the Federal Reserve were
$641,000.
Under modified S.85, this bank, as of the end of 1977, would not have
had to hold any non-interest earning balances at the Federal Reserve
because neither its transactions-type deposits nor the sum of its
other deposits was greater than $50 million. Albertsville National
therefore would have saved the $641,000 it held in non-interest bear-
ing reserve balances at the Federal Reserve at the end of 1977.
Since its vault cash is in excess of required reserves (which would
be zero), all vault cash would have been counted in lieu of the Earn-
ings Participation Account. The Earnings Participation Account thus
would have been zero because its vault cash was greater than the
reserve ratios times the non-excluded deposits (deposits in excess of
$10 million per account category).
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- 2 - Attachment A
(B) As of December 1977, Birmingham Trust National Bank had domestic deposits
of $828,915,000, vault cash of $6,100,000 and sterile balances at the
Federal Reserve Bank of $39,847,000. Because it had both transactions
deposits and other deposits well in excess of the $50,000,000 exemptions,
Birmingham Trust, under modified S.85, would have had to meet reserve
requirements with all of its vault cash and reserve balances of $27,342,000*
The difference between the actual 1977 sterile balances and those under
modified S.85 result in a savings of $12,505,000.
In this case, no vault cash would have been applied in lieu of the Earnings
Participation Account because required reserves would have exceeded the
bank*s holdings of vault cash. Thus, the Earnings Participation Account of
Birmingham Trust will equal the reserve ratio on transactions deposits (9.5
per cent) times $40 million plus the weighted reserve ratio on other depo-
sits times $40 million, or $5,162,000.
Examples for Nonmember Banks
(A) The first nonmember bank listed is The Bank of Abbeville, which had total
deposits, as of the end of 1977, of $23,421,000 and vault cash of $240,000.
Under existing law, no nonmember bank has any Federal reserve requirements.
Under modified S.85, this bank would have continued to have no Federal
reserve requirements because its transactions deposits and other deposits
ar?2 well below the $50 million exemption level per account category.
Since vault cash of the Bank of Abbeville would have been in excess of
required reserves (which are zero), all vault cash would have been counted
in lieu of the Earnings Participation Account. Thus, this bank would have
had no Earnings Participation Account because vault cash was greater than
the reserve ratio times the non-excluded deposits.
(B) Central Bank of Birmingham had total deposits of $510,662,000 in December
1977. Vault cash was $3,050,000, and it had no Federal reserve require-
ments. Under the modified S.85, required reserves would have been covered
by its vault cash holdings plus $17,509,000 in sterile reserve balances.
This results in a net increase in nonearnings reserve balances of $17,509,000,
In this case, no vault cash would have been applied in lieu of the Earnings
Participation Account because required reserves would have exceeded the
bank's holdings of vault cash. Thus, the Central Bank of Birmingham would
have maintained, under modified S.85, an Earnings Participation Account of
9.5 per cent times $40 million in transaction balances plus the weighted
average reserve ratios on $40 million of other deposits, or $5,459,000.
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NOTE: The full listing of Attachment A is 200 pages
long* Only a few representative pages are
provided here. The complete attachment is
available upon request.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
MEMBER BANKS BENEFIT TO BANKS COVERED BY MODIFIED S.85 2/23/79
til ill 131 C*| IS) 161
OSB turn LOCATION TDEP VLTCSH 197? NEW NEW D1F
REQBAL EPA REQBAL C3I-I5I
6010020 ALBERTV1UE NATL BANK ALBERTV1LL6 AL 21933 366 641 0 0 641 *
6010040 FIRST NQ OF ALEXANDER C1TV ALEXANDER CITY AL 42342 1349 881 G 0 881 *
6010050 ALKEVtLLfc BK & TR CO ALICEV1LLE AL 16979 251 506 0 Q 506 ••
6010090 ANNISTON NATIONAL BANK SkHKlSTQU AL 57239 700 1829 729 0 1829
6010190 COMMERCIAL N3 Of ANNISTON ANNISTON AL 5B006 1039 1713 267 0 1713
6010110 FIRST N3 OF ANNISTON ANNISTGN AL 81102 1814 2074 723 0 2074
6010180 FIRST AL BANK OF ATHENS NA ATHENS AL 36876 583 1482 144 0 1482 *
6Oioroo FIRST NB OF ATMORE ATMGRE AL 32111 387 1034 0 0 1034 •
6010230 AUBURN NATIONAL BANK AUBURN AL 26805 320 875 0 0 875 *
6010240 CENTRAL BANK OF AUBURN NA AUBURN AL 22887 537 522 0 0 522 *
6010255 1ST AL BK OF BALDWIN CTV NA BAY NINETTE AL 23484 753 " 401 0 0 401 *
6010300 BIRMINGHAM TRUST NAT BK BIRMINGHAM AL 828915 6100 39847 5162 27342 12505
601040ft CITY NB OF BIRMINGHAM BIRMINGHAM AL 109326 1216 4870 3314 0 4870
6010320 FIPST NB OF BIRMIMGHA^ BIRMINGHAM AL 1120037 14329 58436 5363 41691 16745
6010325 NATIONAL BANK OF COMMERCE BIRMINGHAM AL 23563 531 658 0 0 658 *
6010339 SOUTHERN NATIONAL BAHK BIRMINGHAM kl 51975 732 2045 744 0 2045 *
6010360 NATIONAL BK CF 80AI BCA2 AL 17487 240 516 0 0 516 *
6010410 FIRST NATIONAL BANK BREWTON AL 41640 373 1520 296 0 1520 m
6010455 FIRST NB OF BUTLER BUTLER AL 24604 508 378 0 0 378 *
601046 0 CENTRAL STATE BANK CALER& AL 15260 225 406 0 0 406 *
6010480 CAMDEN NATIONAL BANK CAHDEN AL 20083 259 633 0 0 633 *
6010570 FIRST NA1 BK OF CLANTON CLANTON AL 18557 263 562 0 0 562 *
6010560 PEOPLES SAVINGS BANK CLANTON AL 19740 327 64Q 0 0 640 •
6010630 FIRST NAT BK OF C0LUMB1ANA C0LUM3IANA AL 25163 284 1087 0 0 1087 *.
6010660 LEETH NAT BK OF CULLMAN CULLMAN AL 27662 673 764 0 0 ?64 &
6010670 PARKER BANK ANO*TRUST CO CULLMAN AL 18711 243 713 0 0 713 *
6010638 CENTRAL BANK OF ALABAMA NA DECATUR AL 511589 7452 20913 4944 10465 10448
6010690 FIRST NAT BANK OF DECATUR DECATUR AL 64544 996 2833 1268 0 2833 *
6010735 CITY NATIONAL BANK OF OOTHANDOTHAN AL 31591 638 1035 0 0 1035 *
6010740 FIRST ALABAMA BK OF OOTHAN DOTHAN AL 84933 1023 3209 2024 0 3209
6010750 FIRST NAT BK Of OOTHAN OOTHAN AL 116332 3281 2301 724 0 2301
6010825 FIRST NB OF EUFAULA EUFAULA AL 16235 439 211 0 0 211 •
6010850 FIRST NAT BK OF BALDWIN CTY FAIRHOPE AL 46304 619 1593 252 0 1593 *
6910830 FIRST NB OF FAVETTE FAYETTE AL 18242 698 180 0 0 180 *
6010910 FIRST NB OF FLORENCE FLORENCE AL 135004 2336 4698 3099 G 4690
6010915 SHOALS NAT BK OF FLORENCE FLORENCE AL 21105 399 503 0 0 503 •
6010970 AMERICAN NB OF GADSDEN GAOSOEN AL 61029 1443 1787 287 0 i'78 7 *
6010935 1ST AL BK OF GADSOEN NA GAOSOEN AL 38170 785 1165 0 0 1165 *
6011050 FIRST NB OF GREENVILLE GREENVILLE AL 46542 768 1441 0 0 1441 0
6011090 FIRST NB OF GUNTERSVILLE GUNTERSVlLLi AL 39060 599 1212 5 © 1212 $
6011115 MARION COUNTY BANKING CO HAMILTON AL 32392 534 1398 108 0 139B *
6011150 HEADLAND NATIONAL BANK HEADLAND AL 23771 240 762 0 0 762 *
601H63 AMERICAN NATIONAL BANK HUNTSVRLi AL 39452 7®5 13*23 31 0 1S23 *
601U70 1ST AL BK OF HUNTSVILLE NA HUNTSVStLS AL 155664 3612 4962 3314 4962
6011130 HFNOERSON NB OF HUNTSVILLE HUNTSVILLE AL 67626 1619 20?2 IS? .•0 20?2
6011190 PEOPLES NB OF HUNTSVILLE HUNTSVILIE AL 38414 1122 861 0 • 0 861
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NONMEMBE* SAN&S BENEFIT TO BANKS COVERED BY NODIFIEO S.85 2/23/79
car C3I C41 IS} C6I
OSS NAME LOCATION TDEP VLTCSH 197? NEW NEW OIF
&EQ8AL EPA &EG8AL <3)~(5)
6010010 BANK Of ABBEVILLE ABBEVILLE 23421 240 0 0 0 0 *
6010015 FIRST BANK OF ALABASTER ALABASTER AL 15370 '374 0 0 0 0 *
6010030 ALEXANDER CITY BANK ALEXANOER CITY AL 19940 340 0 0 0 0 *
6Q10065 CITIBANC OF AL ANDALUSIA At ANDALUSIA AL 29491 362 0 0 0 0 *
6010070 COMMERCIAL BANK ANDALUSIA AL 40644 502 0 0 0 0 *
6010120 SANK Cf ARA$ ARAB AL 17565 282 0 0 0 0 *
6010123 SECURITY BANK AND TRUST CO ARAB AL 16533 454 0 0 0 0 •
6010190 BAN< CF ATMORE ATMORE AL 32781 298 0 20 0 0 '•
6010205 EXCHANGE B4NK ATTALLA AL 16694 267 0 0 0 0 »
6010229 AUBURN BANK £ TRUST CO AUBURN AL 14606 212 0 0 0 0 *
6010250 BALDWIN CCUNTY BANK BAY MINETTS AL 24743 436 0 0 0 0 •
6010258 FIRST ALA BK CF HOBfLE CTY BAYOU LA 1UTRE AL 18528 383 0 0 0 o •
6010295 SANK CF THE SOUTHEAST BIRMINGHAM AL 28729 802 0 0 0 o •
6C10305 CENTRAL B&NK OF- BIRMINGHAM 8IRMINGHAH AL 510662 3050 0 5459 17509 •17509
6010310 FIRST AL BANK Qf BIRMINGHAM BIRMINGHAM AL 319352 6672 0 si?o 3201 •3201
6010323 METR03ANK BIRMINGHAM AL 34024 667 0 0 0 0 •
6010350 BANK CF BLOUNTSVILLE BLOLNTSVILLE AL 21242 304 0 0 0 0 *
6010370 SAND MOUNTAIN BANK acAz AL 26540 582 0 0 0 0 •
6010390 BANK CF 8REWT0N BREWTON AL 22737 457 0 0 0 0 +
6010450 CHOCTAW BANK OF BUTLER BUTLER AL 24032 333 0 0 0 0 *
6010520 CHEROKEE COUNTY BANK CENTRE AL 26687 402 0 0 0 0 *
6010530 FARMERS AND MERCHANTS BANK CENTRE AL 32458 326 0 26 0 0 *
6010690 BANK CF DADEV1LLE OADEVILLE AL 16584 282 0 0 0 0 *
6010693 FIRST STATE BK OF OECATU& DECATUR AL 36175 587 0 0 0 0 •
6010720 ROBERTSON BANKING CO DEMOPOLIS AL 25302 541 0* 0 0 0 *
6010780 ELBA EXCHANGE BANK ELBA AL 20833 212 0 0 0 0 *
6010835 CITIZENS BANK ENTERPRISE AL 31130 308 0 146 0 0 •
6010*10 ENTERPRISE BANKING COMPANY ENTERPRISE AL 58470 487 0 $18 0 0
6010620 EUFAULA BANK AND TRUST CO EUFAULA AL 31237 278 0 29 0 0 •
6010370 CITIZENS BANK FAYETTE AL 18426 312 0 0 0 0 *
6010600 ESCAMBIA COUNTY BANK iFLOMATON AL 18092 229 0 0 0 0 »
6010920 FARMERS ANO MERCHANTS &AN5C FOLEY AL 27402 387 0 0 0 0 •
6010922 SOUTH BALOriltt BAM* FOLEY AL 22471 328 0 0 0 0 *
6010925 FORT PAYNE BANK FORT PAYNE AL 23507 49 2 0 0 0 0 •
6010930 FORT DEPOSIT BANK FCRT DEPOSIT AL 19465 306 0 0 0 0 •
6010960 ALABAMA CITY BANK GADSDEN AL 3523 5 715 0 0 0 o *
6010980 EAST GAOSOEN BANK GADSDEN AL 25700 248 0 0 0 o *
.6010995 AMERICAN BANK GENEVA AL 15812 282 0 0 0
6011030 CITIZENS BANK GENEVA AL 20872 123 0 0 0 o •
6011055 GPCENVILLE BANK GREENVILLE AL 23359 597 0 Q 0 o *
60110*0 1ST AL BANK OF GUNTIHSVfIII GUNTERSVILLI AL 23018 345 0 0 0 0 *
6011UO TRADERS AND FARMERS B&H& HALEYVILLE AL 43306 675 0 0 0 0 *
6D11140 CITIZENS BANK OF HARTSiLLE HARTSELLE AL 25051 385 0 0 0
60111*1 FIRST AL BANK OF HARfSELLE HARTSELLE AL 20928 502 0 0 0
6011160 BANK CF HEFLf^ HEFLIN AL 29855 574 0 0 © #
6011165 SANK CF HUNTSVILLE HUNTSVHU '48563 838 0 0
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Attachment B-l-
Comments These amendments provide an exclusion from reserve requirements
of up to $10 million for transaction deposits of depository institutions
and an exclusion up to $10 million for time and savings deposits of
banks. An institution's transaction deposits in excess of $10 million
but not more than $50 million, and a bank's total time and savings
deposits in excess of $10 million but not more than $50 million are
exenyated from reserve requirements. Reserve requirements will be imposed
on a depository institution's transaction deposits that exceed $50
mil] ion and a commercial bank's total timo and 'savings deposits that
exceed $50 million. A depository institution will maintain in an Earnings
Participation Account at the Federal Reserve Bank (or passed through
to the Federal Reserve by another institution) an amount resulting
from first, mult if-lying the appropriate reserve ratios in effect for
each deposit category by the level of the institution's exempted deposits
for each deposit category and second, deducting from this figure the
f
amount by which the institution's vault cash exceeds its reserve requirements.
The institution's Earnings Participation Account will earn interest
at a rate equal to the average return earned on the Federal Reserve's
securities portfolio.
The amendments also provide for the following initial reserve ratios and
ranges on depositss
Initial Ranges
Transaction 9.5% 8-10%
Savings 3% 1-3%
Short term time 8% 3-8%
Long term time 1% 1-3%
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B-2
Section 4 is amended as followst
(a) By striking the figure "40,000,000" each time it
appears on page 5 at lines 6 and 13, on page 6 at lines 7
and 17, and on page 9 at lines 20 and 21 , and substituting
the figure w50,GOG,000" in lieu thereof•
(b) By striking the figures "13", "14", and "12" that
appear on page 5 at lines 6, 7, and 8 and on page 6 at lines
17, 18 and 19 and substituting in lieu thereof the figures
#
®9.5", "10", and "8", respectively.
(c) By striking the figures "40,000", "6s, and m4m,
that appear on page 5 at lines 13, 14, and 16 and substituting
in lieu thereof the figures "$50,000,000," "8", and "3" respectively.
(d) By striking on page 5 the words "one-half of 1"
that appear at line 22 and the figure "2" that appears at
line 23 and substituting in lieu thereof the figures "1" and
"3" respectively.
(e) By striking the figure "5R that appears on page
6 at line 3 and substituting in lieu thereof the figure "3®.
(f) By adding at the end thereof the following new subparagraphss
"(11) Every depository institution shall maintain
in an Earnings Participation Account at a Federal
Reserve Bank of which it is a member or at which
it maintains an account a balance determined by
multiplying the amount of its transaction deposits
that are in excess of $10 million but not more than
$50 million by the reserve ratio in effect for transaction
accounts and, in addition, every bank shall maintain
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
B-3
a balance determined by multiplying the amount of
the total of its savings and time deposits that
are in excess of $10 million but not more than $50
million by the reserve ratio in effect for each
category of savings and time deposits. If the total
savings and time deposits of a bank exceeds $50
million, the amount of its savings and time deposits
against which a balance shall be maintained shall
be determined by multiplying $50 million by the
proportion that the bank's deposit in the respective
categories bear to the total of its deposits in
the categories.
•Any amount by which a depository institution's holdings
of vault cash exceeds its reserve requirements on
its reservable deposits shall be deducted from the
institution's required Earnings Participation Account
Balance.
"The Earnings Participation Account of a depository
institution shall earn interest at a rate equal
to the average rate earned on the securities portfolio
of the Federal Reserve System during the calendar
quarter immediately preceding the interest payment
date. The Board is authorized to adopt rules and
regulations relating to the issuance and administration
rof Earnings Participation Accounts,"
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B-4
Section 5 is amended by inserting after the word "Reserves"
on line 4 the words "and balances."
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Attachment C
Section 6 is amended by striking all that follows the word
"services" on line 13 until the period on line 15,
Comment: This eliminates the requirement that by July 1, 1980 the Board
have put into effect a schedule of fees for Federal Reserve services.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Attachment D
In Section 3, the second sentence of the new paragraph added to the
end of Section 11 (a) of the Federal Reserve Act is amended to read as
follows:
"Such reports shall be made (1) directly to the Board in the case
of member banks and for all deposit liabilities in the case of other
depository institutions maintaining transaction accounts as defined in
Section 19 of this Act, and"
Comments This amendment clarifies that depository institutions with
transactions deposits will file reports on all deposit liabilities directly
with the Board.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Attachment E
Section 4 is amended by striking subsection (7) on page 8
and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
"(7) A depository institution possessing transaction
accounts shall be entitled to the same discount
and borrowing privileges as member banks."
The following section is inserted as section 10*
"Abolition of Penalty rate"
"Section 10. Section 10(b) of the Federal Reserve Act (12
U.S.C. 347b) is amended by striking all after the first sentence
thereof."
Comment: These provisions provide access to the Federal Reserve discount
window to all depository institutions possessing transaction accounts
and eliminate the penalty rate now required by the Federal Reserve
Act when borrowing institutions collateralize their loans with ineligible
paper.
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Attachment F
Section 4 is amended by adding to subsection (5) on page 7
the following:
"Nonmember banks shall be required to maintain reserves
based upon the activities of their foreign branches and
subsidiaries to the same extent required by the Board
of foreign branches and subsidiaries of member banks."
Comments This provision authorizes the Board to require nonmember banks
to maintain reserves against the obligations of their foreign branches
and subsidiaries on the same basis required of member banks1 foreign
branches and subsidiaries.
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Attachment G -1
Section 9, entitled "Effective, .Dates,", is r©designated as
Section 11 and the following is substituted in lieu thereof:
ACCESS TO CLEARING SERVICES
"Sec 9. (a) The first paragraph of section 13 o£ the Federal
Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 342) is amended as follows:
(1) fry inserting after the words "member banks"
the words "or other depository institutions"
e
(2) by inserting after the words "payable upon
presentation" the first and third times they appear,
the words "or other items, including negotiable orders
of withdrawal or share drafts".
(3) by inserting after the words "payable upon
presentation within its district/1 the words "or other
items including negotiable orders of withdrawal or share
f
drafts".
(4) by inserting after the words "nonmember bank
or trust company," wherever they appear the words "or
other depository institution".
(5) by inserting after the words "nonmember bank"
after the second colon the words "or other depository
institution".
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G-2
(b) The thirteenth paragraph of section 16 of the Federal
Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 360) is amended as follows:
(1) by striking out the words "member banks" wherever
they appear and inserting in lieu thereof "depository
institutions".
(2) by striking out the words "member bank" wherever
they appear and inserting in lieu thereof "depository
institution".
(3) by inserting after "checks" wherever it appears
the words "and other items, including negotiable orders
of withdrawal and share drafts."
(c) The fourteenth paragraph of section 16 of the Federal
Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 248(o)) is amended by striking out "its
member banks" and inserting in lieu thereof "depository institutions."
Comment: In order to assure equal treatment for all depository institutions
these amendments conform various sections of the Federal Reserve Act
relating to clearing facilities by eliminating the distinctions drawn
by the Act between member and nonmember depository institutions.
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Cite this document
APA
G. William Miller (1979, February 25). Speech. Speeches, Federal Reserve. https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/speech_19790226_miller
BibTeX
@misc{wtfs_speech_19790226_miller,
author = {G. William Miller},
title = {Speech},
year = {1979},
month = {Feb},
howpublished = {Speeches, Federal Reserve},
url = {https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/speech_19790226_miller},
note = {Retrieved via When the Fed Speaks corpus}
}