Date: 8 Apr 2016
Central Bank Assets are:
. securities, mainly in the form of Treasuries (Government Bonds)
. foreign exchange reserves, which are mainly held in the form of foreign bonds issued by foreign governments.
. loans to commercial banks.
The most important asset is securities, which the Central Bank uses to directly control the supply of money in the country.
Central Bank Liabilities include:
. currency, which is held by the public,
. The government’s bank account, like a checking account, where the government deposits its revenues, in the form of tax revenues, into its account, and paying its bills.
. commercial bank accounts, otherwise known as reserves, where commercial banks keep their deposits with the Central Bank
The BOJ acts as Japan’s Central Bank. It’s assets have reached US$3.6T. The BOJ is not only buying back Government Bonds but also ETFs in an attempt to print more money and inflate the market.
In a simplified flow this is how Central Banks (BOJ) create more money:
1) The Japan Government issue Government Bonds
2) The BOJ buys back the Government Bonds. Because the the BOJ does not use actual money to by buy the Government Bonds, so from out of nothing, money is created. This is how the BOJ creates money. So the BOJ have Assets in Government Bonds, and Liabilities in the money created
The intention to create more money is to weaken the Yen to allow export and wage growth, thereby creating inflation. The global economy is facing a deflationary threat, so that is the reason why Central Banks wanted to create inflation.
There is a danger in this because as the BOJ owns more assets in Government Bonds, it also means that the Japanese Government is increasing its debt to a dangerous level.
So it is not surprising that Japan’s total debt now stands at more than 500% of its GDP.
On top of that the BOJ is supporting the market by buying back ETFs, thereby increasing its assets higher. There are risks when the BOJ intervenes in the market because it is creating assets bubbles, which at some point in time could burst, causing more pain and misery.
Hope the above answers the question raised today about the BOJ’s assets and money printing.
For better understanding of role of Central Bankers and fractional banking, follow the link here:
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