In the tables that follow you will find consolidated balance sheets for the commercial banking system and the 12 Federal Reserve Banks. Use columns 1 through 3 to indicate how the balance sheets would read after each of transactions a to c is completed. Do not cumulate your answers; that is, analyze each transaction separately, starting in each case from the numbers provided. All accounts are in billions of dollars.

a. A decline in the discount rate prompts commercial banks to borrow an additional $1 billion from the Federal Reserve Banks. Show the new balance-sheet numbers in column 1 of each table.

b. The Federal Reserve Banks sell $3 billion in securities to members of the public, who pay for the bonds with checks. Show the new balance-sheet numbers in column 2 of each table.

c. The Federal Reserve Banks buy $2 billion of securities from commercial banks. Show the new balance-sheet numbers in column 3 of each table.

Instructions: Enter your answers as whole numbers in the gray-shaded cells in both tables below..

d. Now review each of the above three transactions, asking yourself these three questions: (1) What change, if any, took place in the money supply as a direct and immediate result of each transaction? (2) What increase or decrease in the commercial banks reserves took place in each transaction? (3) Assuming a reserve ratio of 20 percent, what change in the money-creating potential of the commercial banking system occurred as a result of each transaction?

1. The money supply (Click to select) decreased /did not change/ increased.

2. Reserves (Click to select) increased/ decreased from $33 billion to $_______ billion. ?

3. Money-creating potential (Click to select) decreased/ increased by $ ______billion. ?

Transaction b:

1. The money supply (Click to select)decreased / increased by $ ________billion. ?

2. Reserves (Click to select) increased / decreased from $33 billion to $______ billion. ?

3. Money-creating potential (Click to select) increased/ decreased by $______ billion. ?

Transaction c:

1. The money supply (Click to select) decreased /did not change /increased.

2. Reserves (Click to select) increased/ decreased from $33 billion to $_________ billion. ?

3. Money-creating potential (Click to select) decreased /increased by $_________ billion. ?