[nootropicat]

No they don't, banks have accounts with the central bank. They also have their assets and liabilities. They have to manage the system so that they can manage external withdrawals. When assets outweigh liabilities it's a bankruptcy. When current demand for withdrawals exceeds short term liquid reserves it's a liquidity issue. At no point do banks create base money. A balance in a bank is just an iou for base (central bank's) money.

The only entity that creates money is the central bank. They may even accept mortgages from banks as collateral (including repurchase agreements) to inject new money into the system.

Regulations are supposed to prevent bankruptcy and liquidity issues, but even without any regulations regarding asset ratios, banks can go bankrupt or illiquid.

[hgomersall]

I suggest taking a look at what an actual central bank, The Bank of England, have to say on this rather than a lot of stuff on YouTube: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/quarterly-bulletin/2014/q1/m...

[kd5bjo]

That document completely agrees with ‘nootropicat, except for a difference in terminology— What ‘nootropicat calls “money” the BoE calls “base money.”

(And, for the record, this is also what I’ve been meaning by “currency”)

[hgomersall]

So if someone pays you using a credit card, or using money they derived from a bank loan, presumably you don't accept that money because it's not a loan from the central bank - it's not "base money"?

Incidentally, the only claim you as a lowly individual ever have on central bank money in most (all?) current currency areas is as physical currency, and even then for the most part you only ever get to exchange it for commercial bank money. For the purposes of this discussion, all digital money between most normal entities is commercial bank money. Commercial bank money _is_ money.

[kd5bjo]

I trust that my bank is well-enough managed to provide me with physical currency up to the amount of my account balance, so I’m happy to accept any form of payment that results in an appropriate increase in that number— Just because I draw a distinction between currency and commercial money doesn’t mean that I don’t believe that the latter is money.

And I rarely exchange physical currency for digital money these days— Usually I’m exchanging it for food instead.

[BobaFloutist]

> I trust that my bank is well-enough managed to provide me with physical currency up to the amount of my account balance

It (probably) is, but if all of your bank's account holders asked for that at the same time it would be what's known as a "run on the bank" and you'd very quickly find out that they don't have anywhere near enough physical currency to cover even a fraction of their account holders.

[neilwilson]

It must be peculiar living in such a backward nation that still relies on physical currency to buy food.

I just wave my phone at a terminal.

[eru]

That's a silly comment.

It's important that you _can_ get physical currency on demand. It's not nearly as important whether you personally actually make that demand.

[eru]

> At no point do banks create base money.

This is true, and most of the rest of what you are saying is also true.

> The only entity that creates money is the central bank.

This is not true. Banks really can take arbitrary assets and turn them into money. Just not base money!