International and Foreign Exchange Banking Reserves

The subject of this study is a set of problems concerning international and foreign exchange banking reserves in national economy. The working of reserves in bath the gold currency system and the managed currency system has been presented in this paper. Metallic currency serves a double purpose in the gold currency system, namely as an internal reserve and a foreign exchange reserve. The internal reserve is a regulator of money circulation. The foreign exchange reserve governs the equilibrium of the balance of payment. Next the working of reserves in the managed currency system has been examined. In that system there is a division of internal and international tasks in the sphere of reserves. The functions of foreign exchange reserves have been described. They consist in guaranteeing international liquidity and currency stability. Next the structure of foreign exchange reserves has been described. Distinction between owned and borrowed reserves has been drawn. The role of gold, of key currencies and international credits has been analyzed. The importance of the new international reserve unit has been emphasized, i.e. the special drawing rights of the International Monetary Fund. The problem of cost of keeping foreign exchange reserves and the rule of forming them have been discussed as well. The study of foreign exchange reserves has been supplemented with an analysis of reserve policy in the socialistic economy.Digitalizacja i deponowanie archiwalnych zeszytów RPEiS sfinansowane przez MNiSW w ramach realizacji umowy nr 541/P-DUN/201