Le probleme du controle de la liquidité en France. (The problem of controlling liquidity in France)

Abstract

The idea of liquidity in France finds expression in more or less the same way as in the other western countries. It is normal practice to distinguish between the “liquidity of the economy” on the one hand, and the “liquidity of the banking system” on the other. The former corresponds to the money supply, while the latter comprises the banks’ holdings of notes and coin and their balances on sight accounts with the Bank of France, together with the total amount of the items which they can put into the Bank of France. The methods of influencing liquidity are also similar to those employed in other countries. However, to make them easier to understand, the present article first recalls certain special features of France’s monetary institutions, namely the banks, the specialised institutions and the Treasury. The author then examines the duel problems of controlling the liquidity of the economy and bank liquidity.

JEL: E51, E52, E58, G21