America’s banks are missing hundreds of billions of dollars
How the Federal Reserve drained the financial system of deposits
It is easy to understand how money gets destroyed in a traditional bank run. Picture the men in top hats yelling at clerks in “Mary Poppins”. The crowds want their cash and bank tellers are trying to provide it. But when customers flee, staff cannot satisfy all comers before the institution topples. The remaining debts (which, for banks, include deposits) are wiped out.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “The missing half-trillion”
Finance & economics March 25th 2023
- Policymakers face two nightmares: stubborn inflation and market chaos
- How much longer will America’s regional banks hold up?
- Switzerland’s new megabank is bad news for Swiss bankers
- Why markets can never be made truly safe
- The battle for Europe’s economic soul
- America’s banks are missing hundreds of billions of dollars
From the March 25th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
The great-man theory of Wall Street
Why finance is still dominated by bold individuals
Hong Kong’s property slump may be terminal
Demographics and geopolitics will make a recovery harder
Why everyone wants to lend to weak companies
An unanticipated side-effect of Donald Trump’s election victory
American veterans now receive absurdly generous benefits
An enormous rise in disability payments may complicate debt-reduction efforts
Why Black Friday sales grow more annoying every year
Nobody is to blame. Everyone suffers
Trump wastes no time in reigniting trade wars
Canada and Mexico look likely to suffer