Onno de Beaufort Wijnholds: the money masters—the progress and power of central banks

Excerpt

A central bank is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a state or formal monetary union and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the monetary base. Most central banks also have supervisory and regulatory powers to ensure the stability of member institutions, to prevent bank runs, and to discourage reckless or fraudulent behavior by member banks. Starting from mostly humble beginnings in the seventeenth century to becoming some of the most powerful institutions in the world of today, central banks ‘ascendency has been a process of both evolution and planned institution building. This book has been written to provide a better understanding of how central banks have progressed over time to become powerful players in the world economy. Relatively anonymous for a long time, they have in recent years been the subject of increased political scrutiny and criticism, including at the highest level. …