Reservekrav

Reservekrav, or reserve requirements, are regulatory standards set by a central bank that require banks to hold a minimum portion of their deposits as reserves. Reserves can be kept as vault cash or as deposits with the central bank. The required reserve ratio specifies the share of certain deposits that must be backed, and it can vary by country, financial institution type, and deposit category.

The primary purpose of reserve requirements is to ensure liquidity in the banking system and to constrain or influence the amount of money banks can create through lending. A higher reserve ratio reduces banks’ capacity to extend new credit, while a lower ratio expands lending possibilities. In practice, the effect of reserve requirements depends on the broader monetary policy framework; when banks hold large amounts of excess reserves, the binding power of reserve requirements may be limited.

Reserve requirements are one instrument among several used to manage money supply and financial stability. They operate alongside policy interest rates, standing facilities, and other liquidity or macroprudential measures. Some central banks have reduced or eliminated reserve requirements for many banks to improve the transmission of policy and to reflect changes in financial markets, while others retain higher ratios for specific deposit segments or institutions.

Critics argue that reserve requirements can be costly to administer and may be less effective in modern financial systems with diverse funding sources and advanced payment instruments. In such contexts, other tools—such as interest on reserves and liquidity standards—are often emphasized. See also central bank, monetary policy, reserve ratio.