Mutual Assistance between Federal Reserve Banks: 1913–1960 as Prolegomena to the TARGET2 Debate

Barry Eichengreen, Arnaud Mehl, Livia Chitu and Gary Richardson

The Journal of Economic History, 2015, vol. 75, issue 3, 621-659

Abstract: This article reconstructs the history of mutual assistance among Federal Reserve Banks. We present data on accommodation operations through which Reserve Banks mutualized gold reserves in emergency situations between 1913 and 1960. Reserve sharing was important in response to liquidity crises and bank runs. Such cooperation was essential for the cohesion of the U.S. monetary union. But fortunes could change, with emergency recipients of gold becoming providers. Because imbalances did not endlessly grow, instead narrowing when region-specific shocks subsided, mutual assistance created only limited tensions. These findings speak to the current debate over TARGET2 balances in Europe.

Date: 2015
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Working Paper: Mutual assistance between Federal Reserve Banks, 1913-1960 as prolegomena to the TARGET2 debate (2014)
Working Paper: Mutual Assistance between Federal Reserve Banks, 1913-1960 as Prolegomena to the TARGET2 Debate (2014)
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