Fed plans CDs for banks when it needs to sop up cash

— The Federal Reserve on Monday proposed allowing banks to set up the equivalent of certificates of deposit at the central bank, a move aimed at helping the Fed reel in an unprecedented amount of money plowed into the economy during the financial crisis.

Under the proposal, the Fed would offer so-called term deposits that would pay interest. Doing so would provide banks with another incentive to park their money at the +, rather than having it flow back into the economy.

The proposal comes as no surprise. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and other Fed officials have repeatedly said the creation of term deposits - essentially the equivalent of CDs for banks - would be one of several tools the Fed could use to drain money from the economy when the time is right.

With both the economy and the financial system on the mend, the Fed this year started to wind down and scale back some emergency lending programs. Many of those programs were set up during the height of the financial crisis in the fall of 2008 when some credit markets virtually shut down. Lending conditions have improved but aren’t back to normal. They continue to restrain the economic recovery.

The Fed proposed that the interest rate paid on the term deposit be set through an auction mechanism.

Banks wanting to hold a term deposit would bid in regularly scheduled competitive auctions. The banks would indicate both the interest rate at which they are willing to be paid and the amount of money they want to deposit into the account at that interest rate.

The Fed said it expected term deposits with “relatively short maturities” likely ranging between one and six months. It said deposit maturities wouldn’t exceed one year and no early withdrawals of money in the accounts would be allowed.

The public, the banking industry and other interested parties will be given an opportunity to weigh in on the proposal. The plan could be revised before a final rule is adopted.

Business, Pages 26 on 12/29/2009

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