Chapter 11

Liquidity and Reserves Management: Strategies and Policies

Fill in the Blank Questions

1. A(n) __________________ is an asset which can be converted into cash easily, which has a
relatively stable price and is reversible so that the seller can recover their original investment with
little risk of loss.

2. When a financial institution sells assets to manage liquidity it faces

_________________________. They lose the future earnings on those assets, they face
transaction costs on those sales and the assets most easily sold often have the lowest return.

3. _________________________ is when the financial institution borrows money in the money

market to meet their liquidity needs.

4. The _________________________ is the total difference between its sources and uses of funds.

5. _________________________ are the deposits and other borrowings of the bank which are very
interest sensitive or where the bank is sure they will be withdrawn during the current period.

6. The _________________________ is the idea that management should make all good loans and
count on its ability to borrow funds if it does not have the liquidity to meet its cash needs.

7. _________________________ are the assets the bank must by law hold behind its deposits. In
the U.S. only vault cash and deposits held with the Federal Reserves can be used to meet these
requirements.

8. A(n) _________________________ is the account the bank must have at the Federal Reserve to
cover any checks drawn against the bank.

9. A(n) _________________________ is a service developed by banks where the bank shifts money
out of accounts with reserve requirements and into savings accounts overnight.

10. The _________________________ is a 14 day period stretching from a Thursday to a

Wednesday. This is the period in which the bank has to keep their average daily level of required
reserves for a particular computation period.

11. _________________________ is the availability of cash in the amount needed at a reasonable

cost.

12. The oldest approach to meeting liquidity needs which relies on the sale of liquid assets to meet
liquidity demands is called _________________________.

13. Under a _________________________ strategy some of the expected demands for liquidity are
stored in assets, while others are backstopped by arrangements for lines of credit from banks or
other suppliers of funds.

14. A(n) _________________________ is the person in the bank responsible for the bank's cash
position and meeting legal reserve requirements.

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 15. The method used in the U.S. to determine a bank's legal reserve requirement in which the period
for holding legal reserves follows the period used to calculate the required amount of legal
reserves is called _________________________.

16. The fed funds rate is generally most volatile on bank __________ day.

17. Many depository institutions hold __________ balances (extra reserves) to help prevent overdraft
penalties.

18. Not all _______ banks around the world have reserve requirements.

19. For several decades, the largest banks around the world have chosen which
calls for borrowing immediately spendable funds to cover all anticipated demands for liquidity.

20. The approach to managing liquidity starts with two simple facts,
liquidity rises as deposits increase and loans decrease and liquidity falls when deposits fall and
loans increase.

21. In the approach to managing liquidity deposits and other sources

of funds are divided into categories and then liquidity managers must set aside liquid funds
according to some desired operating rule.

22. Many financial service institutions estimate their liquidity needs based upon experience and
industry averages. This approach to managing liquidity is called the approach.

23. Many analysts believe there is only one sound method for assessing a financial institution’s
liquidity needs. This method centers on .

24. The for deposits and other reservable liabilities and for vault cash holdings is
a two week period extending from Tuesday to a Monday two weeks later.

25. If total legal reserves held are greater than required reserves the bank has .

26. If total legal reserves held are less than required reserves the bank has .

27. The is where a money position manager can cover a large reserve
deficit quickly. It is usually one of the cheapest places to borrow but is also frequently volatile.

28. One of the ratios used in the liquidity indicator approach to managing a financial institution’s
liquidity needs is . This ratio is cash and due from depository institutions
divided by total assets where a greater ratio indicates a stronger liquidity position.

True/False Questions

T F 29. Liquid assets must have a reasonably stable price so that the market is deep enough to
absorb the sale without a significant loss of value.

T F 30. Asset liquidity management (or asset conversion) involves storing liquidity in assets,
such as deposits and jumbo CDs.
T F 31. Asset liquidity management (or asset conversion) involves storing liquidity in assets,
such as cash and marketable securities.

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 T F 32. Liquid assets generally have a stable price but are not necessarily reversible.

T F 33. Asset conversion is considered to be a costless approach to liquidity management.

T F 34. One principle of sound bank liquidity management is to be sure to sell first those assets
with the least profit potential.

T F 35. Borrowed liquidity (liability) management is less risky for a financial institution than is
asset conversion.

T F 36. A financial institution's liquidity gap represents the difference between its sources and
uses of liquid funds.

T F 37. A bank expects to lose its "hot money" liabilities, according to the textbook.

T F 38. According to the customer relationship doctrine a bank should turn down any loan
requests for which it does not have enough deposits on hand but should help its
borrowing customer obtain funds from some other source (such as by issuing a letter of
credit to backstop the customer's loan from another lender).

T F 39. A U.S. bank can run up to a 5-percent deficit in its legal reserve requirement without
incurring an interest penalty from the Federal Reserve System.

T F 40. Most liquidity problems in banking arise from inside a bank, not from its customers.

T F 41. Holdings of liquid assets at U.S. banks have experienced a gradual decline in recent
years.

T F 42. The Federal Reserve has been lowering deposit reserve requirements in recent years.

T F 43. The liquidity indicator, core deposits divided by total assets, is a measure of stored
liquidity.

T F 44. A bank's money position manager is responsible for insuring that the bank maintains an
adequate level of legal reserves.

T F 45. If a bank in the United States runs a legal reserve deficit of more than 2 percent of its
required daily average legal reserve position it will be assessed an interest penalty equal
to the Federal Reserve's discount rate plus 5 percent.

T F 46. If a bank receives more checks deposited to the accounts it holds than checks drawn
against its deposit accounts, the bank's legal reserves will tend to increase.

T F 47. According to the textbook if a bank's liquidity deficit is expected to last for only a few
hours, the federal funds market or the central bank's discount window is normally the
preferred source of funds.

T F 48. Banks making heavy use of borrowed sources of liquidity must wrestle with the problem
of interest cost uncertainty, according to the textbook.

180 Test Bank, Chapter 11

 T F 49. All central banks impose reserve requirements on the banks they regulate.

T F 50. The sources and uses of funds method of estimating a bank's liquidity requirements
divides the bank's liabilities into three types (hot money, vulnerable funds and stable
funds) and estimates the probability of each being withdrawn from the bank.

T F 51. One of the problems with liquidity management for a bank is that rarely does the demand
for funds equal the supply of funds at a given time.

T F 52. One of the problems with liquidity management for a bank is that there is a trade-off
between bank liquidity and profitability.

T F 53. The liquidity problem for banks is made easier because most of their liabilities are not
subject to immediate repayment.

T F 54. The liquidity problem for banks is made easier because depositors and borrowers are not
sensitive to changing interest rates.

T F 55. The oldest approach to liquidity management is the asset liquidity management approach.

T F 56. Some central banks around the world impose reserve requirements on bank loans.

T F 57. Some central banks around the world impose reserve requirements on nondeposit
liabilities.

T F 58. Interest in bank and financial service liquidity management is a relatively new
phenomenon which arose following the 9/11 crisis.

T F 59. Bank robberies have declined in recent years.

T F 60. Discount window loans jumped dramatically the day following 9/11.

T F 61. A bank or financial service institution can meet reserve requirements by selling Treasury
securities in its portfolio.

T F 62. All central banks around the world have some specified reserve requirement.

T F 63. Core deposit ratio is used as one of the liquidity indicators for depository institutions and
is defined as the ratio of core deposits to total assets.

T F 64. Loan commitments ratio measures the volume of promises a lender has made to its
customers to provide credit up to pre-specified amount over a given time period.

Multiple Choice Questions

65. A financial institution that has ready access to immediately spendable funds at reasonable cost at
precisely the time those funds are needed is:
A) Risk free
B) Liquid
C) Efficient
D) Profitable

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 E) None of the above

66. Which of the following is not a reason that banks to hold liquid assets?
A) To meet customer's needs for currency.
B) To meet capital requirements.
C) To meet required reserves.
D) To compensate for correspondent bank services.
E) To assist in the check clearing process.

67. The two most pressing demands for liquidity from a bank come from, first, customers
withdrawing their deposits and, second, from:
A) Credit requests from those customers the bank wishes to keep
B) Checks being cashed at local stores and directly from the bank
C) Demands for wired funds from correspondent banks.
D) Legal reserve requirements set by the Federal Reserve Board.
E) None of the above.

68. A bank expects in the week about to begin $30 million in incoming deposits, $20 million in
deposit withdrawals, $15 million in revenues from the sale of nondeposit services, $25 million in
customer loan repayments, $5 million in sales of bank assets, $45 million in money market
borrowings, $60 million in acceptable loan requests, $10 million in repayments of bank
borrowings, $5 million in cash outflows to cover other operating expenses, and $10 million in
dividend payments to its stockholders. This bank's net liquidity position for the week is:
A) $30 million
B) $20 million
C) $10 million
D) $15 million
E) None of the above

69. There is a trade-off problem between liquidity and:

A) Risk exposure
B) Safety.
C) Profitability
D) Efficiency
E) None of the above

70. Financial institutions face significant liquidity problems because of:

A) Imbalances between the maturities of their assets and their principal liabilities.
B) Their high proportion of liabilities subject to immediate withdrawal.
C) Their sensitivity to changes in interest rates.
D) Both A and B
E) All of the above.

71. Sources of liquidity for banks include:

A) Deposit inflows
B) Money market borrowings
C) Sales of marketable securities
D) Loan repayments
E) All of the above

72. Which of the following is not a source of liquidity for financial institutions?

182 Test Bank, Chapter 11

 A) Deposits
B) Money market borrowings
C) Sales of marketable securities
D) Dividend payments to stockholders
E) All of the above

73. Which of the following liquidity strategies is the most effective for banks today?
A) Asset Management
B) Liability Management
C) Balanced Liquidity Management
D) All of the above
E) A and B above

74. When a bank's sources of liquidity exceed it uses of liquidity, the bank will have a
_______________ liquidity gap.
A) Positive
B) Negative
C) Cyclical
D) Seasonal
E) None of the above

75. "Core deposits", "hot money", and "vulnerable money" are categories of funds under which of the
following methods of estimating a bank's liquidity needs?
A) Sources and Uses of Funds Approach
B) Structure of Funds Approach
C) Liquidity Indicator Approach
D) None of the above
E) A and C

76. Factors that influence a bank's choice among the various sources of reserves include which of the
following?
A) Immediacy of the need
B) Duration of the need
C) Interest rate outlook
D) Regulations
E) All of the above

77. The risk that liquid funds will not be available in the volume needed by a bank is often called:
A) Market risk
B) Price risk
C) Availability risk
D) Interest-rate risk
E) None of the above

78. A bank following an _________________________ liquidity management strategy must take

care that those assets with the least profit potential are sold first. The strategy that correctly fills in
the blank in the foregoing sentence is:
A) Asset conversion
B) Liability management
C) Availability
D) Funds source

Rose/Hudgins, Bank Management and Financial Services, 8/e 183

 E) None of the above

79. When some of a bank's expected demand for liquidity are stored in its assets, while other
unexpected cash needs are met from near-term borrowings this approach to liquidity management
is described by which of the terms listed below?
A) Liability management
B) Asset conversion
C) Borrowed liquidity management
D) Balanced liquidity management
E) None of the above

80. The notion that bank management should strive to meet all good loans that walk in the door in
order to build lasting customer relationships is referred to as the:
A) Asset conversion liquidity strategy
B) Customer relationship doctrine
C) Loan accommodation doctrine
D) Balanced funds management doctrine
E) None of the above

81. A bank manager responsible for overseeing the institution’s legal reserve account is called:
A) Reserve manager
B) Money market manager
C) Money position manager
D) Legal counselor
E) None of the above

82. If a bank's management uses "the discipline of the financial marketplace" to gauge its liquidity
position one indicator of this market test of the adequacy of a bank's liquidity position is:
A) The bank's return on equity capital
B) The volume of bank stock outstanding
C) The bank's return on assets
D) The size of risk premiums on CDs the bank issues
E) None of the above

83. Which of the following is an example of a use of funds for the bank?
A) A customer withdraws $1000 from their account
B) A borrower repays $1500 of a loan they have received
C) The bank issues a $1,000,000 CD
D) The bank sells $5,000,000 of T-Bills
E) None of the above are uses of funds

84. Which of the following is an example of a source of funds?

A) A customer withdraws $1000 from their account
B) A borrower repays $1500 of a loan they have received
C) A bank increases its Fed funds sold by $1,000,000
D) The bank purchases $5,000,000 in T-Bills
E) None of the above are uses of funds

85. A bank currently has $150 million in "hot money" deposits against which they want to hold an 80
percent reserve. This bank has $90 million in vulnerable deposits against which they want to
hold a 30 percent reserve and this bank has $45 million in stable deposits against which they want

184 Test Bank, Chapter 11

 to hold a 5 percent reserve. The legal reserves for this bank are 5 percent of all deposits. What is
this bank's liability liquidity reserve?
A) $149.25 million
B) $285 million
C) $141.7875 million
D) $216.60 million
E) None of the above

86. A bank maintains a clearing balance of $5,000,000 with the Federal Reserve. The Federal funds
rate is currently 6.5 percent. What credit will this bank earn over the reserve maintenance period
to offset any fees charged this bank by the Federal Reserve?
A) $325,000
B) $8,357,143
C) $194,444
D) $12,639
E) None of the above

87. A bank maintains a clearing balance of $1,000,000 with the Federal Reserve. The Federal funds
rate is currently 4.5 percent. What credit will this bank earn over the reserve maintenance period
to offset any fees charged this bank by the Federal Reserve?
A) $17,500
B) $1,750
C) $45,000
D) $12,500
E) None of the above

88. A bank currently holds $105 million in transaction deposits subject to legal reserves but has
managed to enter into sweep account arrangements affecting $55 million of these accounts.
Given that the bank must hold 3 percent legal reserves up to $47.8 million of transaction deposits
and 10 percent legal reserves on any amount above that, how much has this bank reduced its total
legal reserves as a result of these sweep arrangements?
A) $5.500 million
B) $1.449 million
C) $7.119 million
D) $1.619 million
E) None of the above

89. A bank money manager estimates that the bank will experience a liquidity deficit of $400 million
with a probability of 10 percent, a liquidity deficit of $900 million with a probability of 20
percent, a liquidity surplus of $600 million with a probability of 30 percent and a liquidity surplus
of $1200 with a probability of 40 percent over the next month. What is this bank's expected
liquidity deficit or surplus over this next month?
A) $880 liquidity surplus
B) $440 liquidity deficit
C) $440 liquidity surplus
D) $880 liquidity deficit
E) None of the above

90. A bank expects in the week to come $55 million in incoming deposits, $75 million in acceptable
loan requests, $35 million in money market borrowings, $10 million in deposit withdrawals and
$30 million in loan repayments. This bank is expecting a:

Rose/Hudgins, Bank Management and Financial Services, 8/e 185

 A) Liquidity deficit
B) Liquidity surplus
C) Balanced liquidity position
D) None of the above

91. A financial institution has estimated that its growth rate in deposits over the last ten years has
averaged 6 percent per year. This is the _________________________ of estimating future
deposits.
A) Trend component
B) Seasonal component
C) Cyclical component
D) Stationary component
E) None of the above

92. A financial institution has estimated that over the last ten years the deposit withdrawals during
Christmas time is about 25% higher than during any other time of the year. This is the
_________________________ of estimating future deposits.
A) Trend component
B) Seasonal component
C) Cyclical component
D) Stationary component
E) None of the above

93. Which of the following is a guideline for liquidity managers of banks?

A) The liquidity manager must keep track of the activities of all departments of the bank
B) The liquidity manager must know in advance (if possible) the plans of major creditors and
depositors
C) The liquidity manager should make sure the bank has clear priorities and objectives for
liquidity management
D) The liquidity manager must analyze the liquidity needs of the bank on a continuous basis
E) All of the above are guidelines for liquidity managers

94. A manager that uses ratios such as cash and due from banks to total assets and U.S. government
securities to total assets to measure their liquidity position is using:
A) The sources and uses of funds approach
B) The structured funds approach
C) The liquidity indicator approach
D) Signals from the market place
E) None of the above

95. A manager that examines the stock price behavior of the bank and the risk premium on the bank
CD's to measure their liquidity position is using:
A) The sources and uses of funds approach
B) The structured funds approach
C) The liquidity indicator approach
D) Signals from the marketplace
E) None of the above

96. A manager that looks at deposit increases and decreases and loan increases and decreases among
other things to measure their liquidity position is using:
A) The sources and uses of funds approach

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 B) The structured funds approach
C) The liquidity indicator approach
D) Signals from the marketplace
E) None of the above

97. Which of the following statements is correct?

A) The demands for liquidity and sources of liquidity for a bank are generally equal to each
other
B) Most liquidity problems in banking arise from outside the bank
C) The liquidity problems for a bank are made easier because most of their liabilities are not
subject to immediate repayment
D) Liquidity management is easy for a bank because a bank that is very liquid is also very
profitable.
E) All of the above statements are correct

98. The Fed funds market is most volatile on bank:

A) Computation day
B) Settlement day
C) Reserve day
D) Maintenance day
E) Holiday

99. The Fed funds rate usually hovers around the Feds:
A) Target rate
B) Set rate
C) Quoted rate
D) Limit rate
E) Average rate

100. A bank or financial service institution can generally meet reserve requirements using all of the
following except:
A) Selling liquid investments
B) Borrowing in the fed funds market
C) Drawing on any excess correspondent balances
D) Borrowing in the repo market
E) Selling new shares

101. The Shirley State Bank has $90 in transaction deposits subject to legal reserves. This bank must
hold 3 percent legal reserves up to $43.9 of transaction deposits and 10 percent legal reserves on
any amount above this. What is this bank’s total legal reserves?
A) $2.700 million
B) $1.449 million
C) $5.924 million
D) $4.170 million
E) None of the above

102. John Camey, the money manager of the First State Bank, has estimated that the bank has a 20
percent chance of a liquidity deficit of $700, a 30 percent chance of a liquidity deficit of $200, a
30 percent chance of a liquidity surplus of $400 and a 20 percent chance of a liquidity surplus of
$900 over the next week. What is this bank’s expected liquidity deficit or surplus over the next
week?

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 A) $100 liquidity surplus
B) $100 liquidity deficit
C) $400 liquidity surplus
D) $500 liquidity surplus
E) $0 liquidity surplus

103. A bank currently has $50 million in stable deposits against which they want to keep 10%
reserves, $100 in vulnerable deposits against which they want to keep 40% reserves and they
have $50 million in “hot money’ deposits against which they want to keep 90% reserves. The
legal reserves for this bank are 10% of all deposits. What is this bank’s liability liquidity reserve?
A) $90 million
B) $81 million
C) $70 million
D) $20 million
E) None of the above

104. The Hollingsworth National Bank maintains a clearing balance of $7,000,000 with the Federal
Reserve. The Federal Funds rate is currently 5.25 percent. What is the credit this bank will earn
over the maintenance period to offset any fees charged this bank by the Federal Reserve?
A) $367,500
B) $1021
C) $14,292
D) $30,625
E) None of the above

105. A bank must maintain an average daily balance at the Fed of $600. In the first 2 days of the
maintenance period, they maintain a balance of $450, the next three days they maintain a balance
of $700, the next two days they maintain a balance of $650, the next three days they maintain a
balance of $450 and the next three days they maintain a balance of $650. What does their
balance at the Fed have to be on the last day of the maintenance period in order to have a zero
cumulative reserve deficit?
A) $600
B) $400
C) $500
D) $800
E) None of the above

106. A bank must maintain an average daily balance at the Fed of $700. On the first day of the
maintenance period they maintain a balance of $750, the next two days they maintain a balance of
$725, the next three days they maintain a balance of $625, the next two days they maintain a
balance of $775, the next two days they maintain a balance of $700 and the next two days they
maintain a balance of $675. What does their balance have to be on the last day of the
maintenance period in order to have a cumulative reserve deficit?
A) $700
B) $650
C) $750
D) $325
E) None of the above

107. David Ashby has just paid off the balance on his home mortgage with First American Bank.
What source of liquidity does this represent to the bank?

188 Test Bank, Chapter 11

 A) Incoming customer deposit
B) Revenues from the same of nondeposit services
C) Customer loan repayment
D) Sale of an asset
E) Borrowings from the money market

108. The Harmony Bank of the South has just increased its Federal Funds Purchased. What source of
liquidity does this represent to the bank?
A) Incoming customer deposit
B) Revenues from the same of nondeposit services
C) Customer loan repayment
D) Sale of an asset
E) Borrowings from the money market

109. The Peace Bank of Ohio has just received a $50 million credit at the local clearing house. Which
type of factor affecting legal reserves is this for the bank?
A) A controllable factor increasing legal reserves
B) A noncontrollable factor increasing legal reserves
C) A controllable factor decreasing legal reserves
D) A noncontrollable factor decreasing legal reserves
E) None of the above

110. The Sasser State Bank has just sold $25 million in Treasury Bills. Which type of factor affecting
legal reserves is this for the bank?
A) A controllable factor increasing legal reserves
B) A noncontrollable factor increasing legal reserves
C) A controllable factor decreasing legal reserves
D) A noncontrollable factor decreasing legal reserves
E) None of the above

111. The Hora National Bank has just received notice that a large depositor with the bank wants to
close their account immediately. Which type of factor affecting legal reserves is this for the
bank?
A) A controllable factor increasing legal reserves
B) A noncontrollable factor increasing legal reserves
C) A controllable factor decreasing legal reserves
D) A noncontrollable factor decreasing legal reserves
E) None of the above

112. The Simpson State Bank of Stillwater has just sold Federal Funds to another bank in their Federal
Reserve district. Which type of factor affecting legal reserves is this for the bank?
A) A controllable factor increasing legal reserves
B) A noncontrollable factor increasing legal reserves
C) A controllable factor decreasing legal reserves
D) A noncontrollable factor decreasing legal reserves
E) None of the above

113. The Burr Bank has just calculated the ratio of U.S. Government Securities to Total Assets.
Which liquidity indicator is this?
A) Cash position indicator
B) Liquid securities indicator

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 C) Net federal funds and repurchase agreement position
D) Capacity ratio
E) Hot money ratio

114. The HTR Bank of Summerville has just calculated the ratios of money market (short term) assets
to volatile liabilities. Which liquidity indicator is this?
A) Cash position indicator
B) Liquid securities indicator
C) Net federal funds and repurchase agreement position
D) Capacity ratio
E) Hot money ratio

115. Which of the following is an option when a liquidity deficit arises and the bank wants to borrow
liquidity to cover the deficit?
A) Selling Treasury Bills
B) Reducing their correspondent deposits with another bank
C) Selling a municipal bond
D) Issuing a jumbo CD
E) All of the above

116. Which of the following is an option when a liquidity deficit arises and the bank wants to use their
stored liquidity in their assets to cover the deficit?
A) Borrowing in the Federal Funds market
B) Issuing a jumbo CD
C) Selling Treasury Bills
D) Increasing their correspondent deposits with another bank
E) All of the above

117. The Taylor Treadwell Bank has just calculated the ratio of net loans and leases to total assets.
Which liquidity indicator is this?
A) Cash position indicator
B) Liquid securities indicator
C) Net federal funds and repurchase agreement position
D) Capacity ratio
E) None of the above

118. The Taylor Treadwell Bank has just calculated the ratio of demand deposits to total time deposits.
Which liquidity indicator is this?
A) Deposit composition ratio
B) Liquid securities indicator
C) Net federal funds and repurchase agreement position
D) Capacity ratio
E) None of the above

190 Test Bank, Chapter 11