In the period just before and after the founding of the Federal Reserve System in 1913, bankers, economists, and legislators were intensely absorbed in discussing how to assure a proper functional relationship between the future central bank and the commercial banking system. During the sixty-odd years that followed, many changes have occurred to affect one side or the other of the Federal Reserve-banking system relationship. Much less attention has been devoted, however, to the current state of the relationship between the banking system and the Federal Reserve in regard to the conduct of...

In the period just before and after the founding of the Federal Reserve System in 1913, bankers, economists, and legislators were intensely absorbed in discussing how to assure a proper functional relationship between the future central bank and the commercial banking system. During the sixty-odd years that followed, many changes have occurred to affect one side or the other of the Federal Reserve-banking system relationship. Much less attention has been devoted, however, to the current state of the relationship between the banking system and the Federal Reserve in regard to the conduct of...