NYT columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin warned readers that higher bank capital requirements, intended to ensure safety: "would come at the expense of economic growth as banks would make fewer loans.This is not true.
The Federal Reserve Board decides on the level of reserves that it wants to pump into the financial system based on the level of economic activity. If economic activity is too slow, it can increase the volume of loans available to banks by putting more reserves into the system. Contrary to what Sorkin asserts, it is not necessary for the banks to raise their leverage of the same amount of reserves in order to generate more loans for businesses.
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