Discount rate (bank rate), Managerial Economics

Assignment Help:

Discount Rate (Bank Rate)

This is the rate on central bank advances and is also called official discount rate or "minimum lending rate".  When commercial banks find themselves short of cash they may, instead of contracting bank deposits, go to the central bank, which can make additional cash available in its capacity as  "lender of last resort", to help the banks out of their difficulties.  The Central Bank can make cash available on a short-term basis in either of two ways; by lending cash directly, charging a rate of interest which is referred to as the official "discount rate", or by buying approved short-term securities from the commercial banks.  The central bank exercises regulatory powers as a lender of last resort by making this help both more expensive to get and more difficult to get.  It can do the former by charging a very high "penal" rate of interest, well above other short-term rates ruling in the money market.  Similarly, when it makes cash available by buying approved short-term securities, it can charge a high effective rate of interest by buying them at low prices.  The effective rate of interest charged when central bank buys securities (supplying cash) is in fact a re-discount rate, since the bank is buying securities which are already on the market but at a discount.

The significance of this rate of interest charged by the central bank in one way or the other to commercial banks, as a lender of last resort, is that if this rate goes up the commercial banks, who find that their costs of borrowing have increased, are likely to raise the rates of interest on their lending to businessman and other borrowers.  Other interest rates such as those charged by building societies on house mortgages, are then also likely to be pulled up.


Related Discussions:- Discount rate (bank rate)

Show the properties of isoquants, Q. Show the Properties of isoquants? ...

Q. Show the Properties of isoquants? Isoquants slope downwards to the right:   It means that, in order to keep output constant; when amount of one factor is increased then the

Returns to scale, A company uses 2 inputs, K and L in its production functi...

A company uses 2 inputs, K and L in its production function. The production function is given as where Q, K and L are in units per week. Price of input K per unit is RM100, and inp

Fixed exchange rate, Country A has a fixed exchange rate with country B. Du...

Country A has a fixed exchange rate with country B. Due to a recession in country B, demand for A's goods falls. Draw what would happen on the graph below. On the graphs, draw what

Factors influencing supply - prices of factors of production, Prices of the...

Prices of the factors of production As the prices of those factors of production used intensively by X producers rise, so do the firms' costs. This cause supply to fall as some

Slope of the demand curve and price elasticity, The elasticity of a demand ...

The elasticity of a demand curve is frequently judged by its appearance: the flatter the demand curve, the greater the elasticity and vice versa. However this conclusion is mislead

Measuring point elasticity on a non-linear demand curve, Measuring Point El...

Measuring Point Elasticity on a Non-linear Demand Curve Let's now explain the method of measuring point elasticity on a non-linear demand curve. Assume we want to measure the

Perfect competition, Perfect Competition   The model of perfect compe...

Perfect Competition   The model of perfect competition describes a market situation in which there are: i.         Many buyers and sellers to the extent that the supply of

How medical services are funded in canada, Based on the information given i...

Based on the information given in the Canada Health Act as well as the information given in your Study Guide, write a description of how medical services are funded in Canada. Be s

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd