29.12.2016 Views

ECONOMIC REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

2hzAyD3

2hzAyD3

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

with no easy way to get the funds from savers into productive investment,<br />

the economy would face bigger problems very quickly. Entrepreneurs with<br />

ideas would find it difficult to get capital, large companies in need of money<br />

to restructure their operations would have no way to borrow against their<br />

future earnings. Young families would have no way to buy a house until<br />

they had personally saved enough to afford the whole thing. Workers saving<br />

for retirement, and firms and individuals attempting to insure against risk,<br />

would find it hard to do so.<br />

As part of collecting savings and making them available to borrowers,<br />

financial firms perform several important functions. The first is to evaluate<br />

the potential borrower and the reasons they wish to borrow, and to make<br />

reasonably sure that the loan will be repaid and that the investment will perform<br />

as promised. This includes the continued monitoring of the borrower<br />

to ensure the money is being used as promised. When the system works<br />

well, the financial service provider acts on behalf of the saver – and in the<br />

process helps ensure that capital is allocated more efficiently in the economy.<br />

Savers or investors may lack information about the quality of a firm looking<br />

to borrow money. Figuring out the creditworthiness of potential borrowers<br />

and supervising the borrower after a loan is made is costly. By specializing<br />

in making loans or providing funds, the financial service provider typically<br />

has better information than savers about potential and actual borrowers as<br />

well as the likelihood that loans will be repaid and investments will perform<br />

as expected. Problems may develop, however, if or when the financial service<br />

provider puts its interests ahead of the saver. Economists refer to this as an<br />

example of the principal-agent problem.<br />

Another important function of financial service providers is to supply<br />

liquidity and maturity transformation. Borrowers often wish to borrow<br />

for a long period of time to invest in a home or a new business. However,<br />

savers may wish to have the ability to cash out of their investment should<br />

they desire to use their funds for other purposes. An example of maturity<br />

transformation is when a credit union that aggregates the savings deposits of<br />

many customers to make a mortgage loan that will be repaid over 30 years.<br />

Financial service providers also facilitate diversification. Savers who<br />

invest through an intermediary typically have a small investment in many<br />

large projects rather than having “all their eggs in one basket.” The financial<br />

system allows investors not only to have ready access to their funds if<br />

needed, but also to spread a relatively small amount of money across a wide<br />

range of investments.<br />

Finally, the financial system plays a key role in the way payments are<br />

made in our economy. While people can always use cash for their purchases,<br />

it is not always the most convenient method. Checks, transfers, credit cards,<br />

Strengthening the Financial System | 351

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!