Economics of Money: Chapter 11
The modern commercial banking system began in America when the
Answer: B
A major controversy involving the banking industry in its early years was
Answer: B
The government institution that has responsibility for the amount of money and credit supplied in the economy as a whole is the
Answer: A
Because of the abuses by state banks and the clear need for a central bank to help the federal government raise funds during the War of 1812, Congress created the
Answer: C
The Second Bank of the United States was denied a new charter by
Answer: A
Currency circulated by banks that could be redeemed for gold was called
Answer: B
To eliminate the abuses of the state-chartered banks, the ________ created a new banking system of federally chartered banks, supervised by the ________.
Answer: A
The belief that bank failures were regularly caused by fraud or the lack of sufficient bank capital explains, in part, the passage of
Answer: C
Before 1863
Answer: C
Prior to 1863, all commercial banks in the United States
Answer: B
Although the National Bank Act of 1863 was designed to eliminate state-chartered banks by imposing a prohibitive tax on banknotes, state banks were able to stay in business by
Answer: C
The National Bank Act of 1863, and subsequent amendments to it
Answer: B
Which regulatory body charters national banks?
Answer: C
The regulatory system that has evolved in the United States whereby banks are regulated at the state level, the national level, or both, is known as a
Answer: D
Today the United States has a dual banking system in which banks supervised by the ________ and by the ________ operate side by side.
Answer: C
The U.S. banking system is considered to be a dual system because
Answer: C
The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 required that
Answer: C
The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 required all ________ banks to become members of the Federal Reserve System, while ________ banks could choose to become members of the system.
Answer: C
Probably the most significant factor explaining the drastic drop in the number of bank failures since the Great Depression has been
Answer: A
With the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, member banks of the Federal Reserve System ________ to purchase FDIC insurance for their depositors, while non-member commercial banks ________ to buy deposit insurance.
Answer: C
With the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Answer: B
The Glass-Steagall Act, before its repeal in 1999, prohibited commercial banks from
Answer: B
The legislation that separated investment banking from commercial banking until its repeal in 1999 is known as the
Answer: C
Which of the following statements concerning bank regulation in the United States is TRUE?
Answer: B
Which bank regulatory agency has the sole regulatory authority over bank holding companies?
Answer: D
State banks that are not members of the Federal Reserve System are most likely to be examined by the
Answer: B
State banking authorities have sole jurisdiction over state banks
Answer: A
Financial innovations occur because of financial institutions search for
Answer: A
________ is the process of researching and developing profitable new products and services by financial institutions.
Answer: A
The most significant change in the economic environment that changed the demand for financial products in recent years has been
Answer: B
In the 1950s the interest rate on three-month Treasury bills fluctuated between 1 percent and 3.5 percent; in the 1980s it fluctuated between ________ percent and ________ percent.
Answer: A
Uncertainty about interest-rate movements and returns is called
Answer: C
Rising interest-rate risk
Answer: B
Adjustable rate mortgages
Answer: C
Adjustable rate mortgages
Answer: A
The agreement to provide a standardized commodity to a buyer on a specific date at a specific future price is
Answer: C
An instrument developed to help investors and institutions hedge interest-rate risk is
Answer: C
Financial instruments whose payoffs are linked to previously issued securities are called
Answer: B
Both ________ and ________ were financial innovations that occurred because of interest rate volatility.
Answer: B
The most important source of the changes in supply conditions that stimulate financial innovation has been the
Answer: C
New computer technology has
Answer: C
Credit cards date back to
Answer: A
A firm issuing credit cards earns income from
Answer: A
The entry of AT&T and GM into the credit card business is an indication of
Answer: B
A debit card differs from a credit card in that
Answer: C
Automated teller machines
Answer: C
The declining cost of computer technology has made ________ a reality.
Answer: C
Bank customers perceive Internet-only banks as being
Answer: D
A disadvantage of virtual banks (clicks) is that
Answer: D
So-called fallen angels differ from junk bonds in that
Answer: A
Newly-issued high-yield bonds rated below investment grade by the bond-rating agencies are frequently referred to as
Answer: D
In 1977, he pioneered the concept of selling new public issues of junk bonds for companies that had not yet achieved investment-grade status.
Answer: A
One factor contributing to the rapid growth of the commercial paper market since 1970 is
Answer: B
The development of money market mutual funds contributed to the growth of ________ since the money market mutual funds need to hold liquid, high-quality, short-terms assets.
Answer: A
The process of transforming otherwise illiquid financial assets into marketable capital market instruments is known as
Answer: A
________ is creating a marketable capital market instrument by bundling a portfolio of mortgage or auto loans.
Answer: D
The driving force behind the securitization of mortgages and automobile loans has been
Answer: C
Securitization is a process of asset transformation that involves a number of different financial institutions working together. These financial institutions are known collectively as the
Answer: D
Which of the following is NOT part of the shadow banking system?
Answer: A
Because of securitization, a new class of residential mortgages offered to borrowers with less-than-stellar credit records developed. These mortgages are known as
Answer: B
According to Edward Kane, because the banking industry is one of the most ________ industries in America, it is an industry in which ________ is especially likely to occur.
Answer: C
Loophole mining refers to financial innovation designed to
Answer: C
Prior to 2008, bank managers looked on reserve requirements
Answer: A
Prior to 2008, the bank's cost of holding reserves equaled
Answer: D
Prior to 1980, the Fed set an interest rate ________, a maximum limit, on the interest rate that could be paid on time deposits.
Answer: B
The process in which people seeking higher yielding securities take their funds out of the banking system thus restricting the amount of funds banks can lend is called
Answer: C
Money market mutual funds
Answer: A
In September 2008, the Reserve Primary Fund, a money market mutual fund, found itself in the situation know as "breaking the buck." This means that
Answer: A
In this type of arrangement, any balances above a certain amount in a corporation's checking account at the end of the business day are "removed" and invested in overnight securities that pay the corporation interest. This innovation is referred to as a
Answer: A
Sweep accounts which were created to avoid reserve requirements became possible because of a change in
Answer: B
Sweep accounts
Answer: A
Since 1974, commercial banks importance as a source of funds for nonfinancial borrowers
Answer: A
Thrift institutions importance as a source of funds for borrowers
Answer: B
Since 1980
Answer: B
Financial innovation has caused
Answer: B
Disintermediation resulted from
Answer: A
The experience of disintermediation in the banking industry illustrates that
Answer: D
Banks responded to disintermediation by
Answer: A
One factor contributing to the decline in cost advantages that banks once had is the
Answer: A
The most important developments that reduced banks cost advantages include
Answer: B
The most important developments that reduced banks' income advantages include
Answer: B
Banks have attempted to maintain adequate profit levels by
Answer: B
The decline in traditional banking internationally can be attributed to
Answer: B
Why did the interest rate volatility of the 1970s spur financial innovation?
Answer: Banks were very vulnerable to interest-rate risk in the mortgage loans. To protect themselves, banks began to issue adjustable-rate mortgages whose interest rate will increase along with market interest rates. Additionally financial derivatives were developed to help hedge against interest-rate risk.
The presence of so many commercial banks in the United States is most likely the result of
Answer: C
The McFadden Act of 1927
Answer: A
The legislation that effectively prohibited banks from branching across state lines and forced all national banks to conform to the branching regulations in the state in which they reside is the
Answer: A
The large number of banks in the United States is an indication of
Answer: B
Lack of competition in the United States banking industry can be attributed to
Answer: D
Which of the following is a TRUE statement concerning bank holding companies?
Answer: B
A financial innovation that developed as a result of banks avoidance of bank branching restrictions was
Answer: D
ATMs were developed because of breakthroughs in technology and as a
Answer: A
Financial innovations that grew out of the bank branching restrictions were
Answer: A
What financial innovations helped banks to get around the bank branching restrictions of the McFadden Act?
Answer: The introduction of the automated teller machine allowed a bank's customers to have access to funds from various locations not just the bank building and was not subject to the branching restrictions. Bank holding companies could own controlling interest in several banks and other companies related to banking.
The primary reason for the recent reduction in the number of banks is
Answer: D
Bank holding companies that rival money center banks in size, but are not located in money center cities are
Answer: A
Allowing bank branching across state lines gives banks greater ability to coordinate bank operations. This makes it easier for them to receive the benefits of
Answer: B
The ability to use one resource to provide different products and services is
Answer: B
The business term for economies of scope is
Answer: D
The legislation that overturned the prohibition on interstate banking is
Answer: D
Although it has a population about half that of the United States, Japan has
Answer: D
Experts predict that the future structure of the U.S. banking industry will have
Answer: C
Bank consolidation will likely result in
Answer: C
Critics of nationwide banking fear
Answer: A
One of the concerns of increased bank consolidation is the reduction in community banks which could result in
Answer: A
Nationwide banking might reduce bank failures due to
Answer: C
As the banking system in the United States evolves, it is expected that
Answer: D
The legislation overturning the Glass-Steagall Act is
Answer: B
Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act states retain regulatory authority over
Answer: C
Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act the oversight of the securities activities of bank holding companies belongs to
Answer: A
As a result of the global financial crisis several of the large, free-standing investment banking firms chose to become bank holding companies. This means that they will now be regulated by
Answer: A
In a ________ banking system, commercial banks provide a full range of banking, securities, and insurance services, all within a single legal entity.
Answer: A
In a ________ banking system, commercial banks engage in securities underwriting, but legal subsidiaries conduct the different activities. Also, banking and insurance are not typically undertaken together in this system.
Answer: B
A major difference between the United States and Japanese banking systems is that
Answer: B
Like the dual banking system for commercial banks, thrifts can have either ________ or ________ charters.
Answer: A
Unlike banks, ________ have been allowed to branch statewide since 1980.
Answer: A
Thrift institutions include
Answer: D
The FHLBS gives loans to S&Ls and thus performs a function similar to the ________ for commercial banks.
Answer: A
Mutual savings banks are owned by
Answer: C
Mutual savings banks are primarily regulated by
Answer: A
An essential characteristic of credit unions is that
Answer: D
________ are the only depository institutions that are tax-exempt.
Answer: D
The spectacular growth in international banking can be explained by
Answer: A
What country is given credit for the birth of the Eurodollar market?
Answer: C
Deposits in European banks denominated in dollars for the purpose of international transactions are known as
Answer: A
The main center of the Eurodollar market is
Answer: A
Eurodollars are
Answer: A
Reasons for holding Eurodollars include
Answer: B
An advantage to American banks from operating foreign branches is that Eurodollar deposits in offshore branches are
Answer: A
U.S. banks have most of their branches in
Answer: A
A(n) ________ is a subsidiary of a U.S. bank that is engaged primarily in international banking.
Answer: A
________ within the U.S. can make loans to foreigners but cannot make loans to domestic residents.
Answer: B
________ of a foreign bank operates in the U.S. but cannot accept deposits from domestic residents.
Answer: A
If a foreign bank operates a subsidiary bank in the U.S., the subsidiary bank is
Answer: A
Foreign banks may engage in banking activities in the United States by opening all of the following EXCEPT
Answer: D
Since the passage of the International Banking Act of 1978, the competitive advantage enjoyed by foreign banks in the U.S. has been
Answer: A
Discuss three ways in which U.S. banks can become involved in international banking.
Answer: United States banks could open a foreign branch of their bank. A U.S. bank holding company could purchase controlling interest in a foreign bank in a foreign country. A U.S. bank could open a Edge Act Corporation. A U.S. bank could open an International Banking Facility in the U.S. which accepts time deposits from foreigners and makes loans to foreigners in the U.S.