Prior to the establishment of the U.S. Federal Reserve, exchange was inhibited by a lack of -. There was no - moving money between banks, which made it harder for banks to extend loans to local businesses, since a bank cannot lend money it does not have. One of the Fed's main functions is to act as a backup - for private banks, which makes it easier for banks to lend to businesses, which ultimately -. means ofbanksborrowerlenderpromotes national economic growthnational system forstandard currencylimits inflationmortgage