What does a bank’s interest rate measure?
Read two excerpts from a speech by economist Ben Bernanke, former Chair of the Federal Reserve."Yet another striking feature of the Great Contraction [Depression] in the United States was the massive extent of banking panics and failures, culminating [resulting] in the Bank Holiday of March 1933, in which the entire US banking system was shut down. During the Depression decade, something close to half of all US commercial banks either failed or merged with other banks.”"The best thing that central bankers can do for the world is to avoid such crises by providing the economy with, in Milton Friedman’s words, a ‘stable monetary background.’. . .”—Ben Bernanke, 2002
Why did the US Congress create the Federal Reserve System in 1913?
How did the Mechanics and Farmers Bank of Durham, NC, differ from most other banks of the early 1900s?
What is the money supply of the United States?
Some savings accounts help depositors earn money. Where does this money come from?
Review the photograph.

Why does the Fed sometimes increase interest rates?
How does the Federal Deposit Insurance Company (FDIC) protect bank customers?
Tran got a loan of $10,000 from the bank to help pay for his new car. He agreed to pay $800 in interest for the use of this money.
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