Central & Commercial Banks (Cambridge (CIE) O Level Economics)

Revision Note

Steve Vorster

Written by: Steve Vorster

Reviewed by: Jenna Quinn

The Functions of Central Banks

  • Central Banks play a vital role in maintaining stability in the financial system. Additionally, the policy tools at their disposal help to meet Government economic objectives and create economic growth

Flow chart showing the role of the central bank, with arrows pointing to four functions: lender of last resort, monetary policy, the government’s bank, and regulate the banking industry.
Central Banks play four important roles in the economy
  1. Implementation of monetary policy:  This is more fully explained in  Sub-topic 4.4.1

  2. Banker to the government: The Government sets the annual budget but it is the Central Bank that manages the tax receipts and payments. In 2022 there were 5.7 million public sector workers in the UK who had to be paid by the Central Bank each month

  3. Banker to the banks – lender of last resort: Commercial banks are able to borrow from the Central Bank when they run into short-term liquidity issues. Without this help, they might go bankrupt leading to instability in the financial system - and a potential loss of savings for many households

  4. Regulation of the banking industry: the high level of asymmetric information in financial markets requires that commercial banks are regulated in order to protect consumers

The Functions of Commercial Banks

  • Financial markets are any place or system that provides buyers and sellers the means to exchange goods/services and trade financial instruments

    • Financial instruments include loans, bonds, equities, and international currencies  

  • Commercial Banks play a central role in financial markets

  1. They facilitate saving: storing money for future use is essential for households and firms. It also provides a pool of money that financial institutions can lend i.e. one person's savings is another person's borrowing

  2. They lend to businesses and individuals: access to credit is a key requirement for economic growth and development. Being able to borrow money speeds up consumption by households and investment by firms. It also allows households or firms to purchase assets and pay them off over an extended period of time e.g. mortgages on home purchases

  3. They facilitate the exchange of goods and services: each purchase of goods/services requires the movement of money between at least two parties. Commercial Banks provide multiple ways for this exchange to happen including phone apps (e.g. Google Pay), debit cards, credit cards and bank transfers

  4. They provide forward markets in currencies and commodities: forward markets are also called futures markets. They provide some price stability in commodity markets and enable investors to make a profit by speculating on future prices

  5. They provide a market for equities: equities are shares in public companies that are listed on stock exchanges around the world. Commercial Banks facilitate both long term investment and speculation by providing platforms which connect buyers and sellers

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Steve Vorster

Author: Steve Vorster

Expertise: Economics & Business Subject Lead

Steve has taught A Level, GCSE, IGCSE Business and Economics - as well as IBDP Economics and Business Management. He is an IBDP Examiner and IGCSE textbook author. His students regularly achieve 90-100% in their final exams. Steve has been the Assistant Head of Sixth Form for a school in Devon, and Head of Economics at the world's largest International school in Singapore. He loves to create resources which speed up student learning and are easily accessible by all.

Jenna Quinn

Author: Jenna Quinn

Expertise: Head of New Subjects

Jenna studied at Cardiff University before training to become a science teacher at the University of Bath specialising in Biology (although she loves teaching all three sciences at GCSE level!). Teaching is her passion, and with 10 years experience teaching across a wide range of specifications – from GCSE and A Level Biology in the UK to IGCSE and IB Biology internationally – she knows what is required to pass those Biology exams.