[forgetsusername]

>Why should banks be able to do this, but not other companies or even private persons?

Companies and individuals are most certainly able to create "money" on their own. You can issue all the debt you want, as long as you find a willing counterparty and sign your own name to it. It's balance sheet expansion.

For example, you go to purchase a new car, and sign a note telling the dealer that you will pay the price of the car, plus interest, over five years. You've created an asset out of nothing, for which the bank is more than willing to pay the dealer cash for. People and companies create such assets every day. There is no magic to issuing your own liabilities, which is what the Fed does when it prints money.