Central Banks

The central banks of a country's economy acts a monetary and financial pillar. A stable monetary and financial policy is essential for the economic progress.

Central Banks are also vested with certain supervisory powers so that banks and various other financial institutions do not behave irresponsibly. The functions of central banks widely vary from one country to another. Some of the important functions of the central bank of a country are as follows:

Issuance of bank notes.
Managing the country's foreign exchange and gold reserves.
Deciding on the official interest rate to manage inflation.
Acting as the banker to the Government and the banker's bank.
Regulation and supervision of the banking industry.

In most countries the central banks are state-owned and their policies, therefore, are subject to government interference. On the other hand, 'independent central banks' are the ones that function with least government intervention. These banks operate under rules designed to wipe off the possibilities of political interference; examples include the US Federal Reserve, the Reserve Bank of India, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England, the Deutsche Bundesbank, the Bank of Canada, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the European Central Bank. However, it is improper to say that these 'independent central banks' are entirely beyond the scope of political interference.

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Keywords:

central banks, central bank, financial institutions, Publicly owned banks