| Reserve Bank of Australia | |||||
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| Headquarters | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | ||||
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| Coordinates | Coordinates: | ||||
| Established | 1960 | ||||
| Governor | Glenn Stevens | ||||
| Central Bank of |  Australia |
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| Currency | Australian dollar | ||||
| ISO 4217 Code | AUD | ||||
| Base borrowing rate | 4.25% | ||||
| Website | www.rba.gov.au | ||||
The Reserve Bank of Australia came into being on 14 January 1960 to operate as Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority. The bank offers banking services to the Federal Government, and to licensed banks that participate in the payments system. It is headed by the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Glenn Stevens.
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History
The predecessor to the Reserve Bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, was established in 1911. It was initially a commercial and savings bank. The Department of Treasury issued notes until 1924, when this responsibility was transferred to the Commonwealth Bank.
The Commonwealth Bank gradually gained more central banking activities until 1945, when new laws formalised its central banking powers. In 1960 the central banking functions of the Commonwealth Bank were transferred to the new Reserve Bank of Australia.
The 1980s saw the abolition of Exchange Control as a result of the float of the Australian dollar and the creation of a banking supervision function for the Reserve Bank. This banking supervision function was then transferred to the newly created Australian Prudential Regulation Authority in 1998.
Roles and responsibilities
It is the duty of the Reserve Bank Board, within the limits of its powers, to ensure that the monetary and banking policy of the Bank is directed to the greatest advantage of the people of Australia and that the powers of the Bank ... are exercised in such a manner as, in the opinion of the Reserve Bank Board, will best contribute to:
- (a) the stability of the currency of Australia
- (b) the maintenance of full employment in Australia; and
- (c) the economic prosperity and welfare of the people of Australia.
In practice the Reserve Bank concentrates on the first objective, that is to control inflation through monetary policy. (See also open market operation.) The current objective is a policy of inflation targeting aimed at maintaining the annual inflation rate at between "2-3 per cent, on average, over the cycle". This target was first set in 1993 by the then Reserve Bank Governor Bernie Fraser and was then formalised in 1996 by the then Treasurer Peter Costello and incoming Reserve Bank Governor Ian Mcfarlane.
Before 1961, the functions of the Reserve Bank were performed by the Note Issuing Branch of the Commonwealth Bank. The Commonwealth Bank continued to exist as a government operated retail and commercial bank (until it was privatised in the early 1990s), whilst the Reserve Bank offers no such commercial services, only transactional banking facilities to Commonwealth and State government departments and authorities.
Board of directors
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The Reserve Bank's board of directors consists of the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank and Secretary to the Treasury as well as 6 external members appointed by the Treasurer. Excluding changes in the number of directors, the structure of the board of directors has remained unchanged since 1951.
The current members of the board of directors are:
- Glenn Stevens, Governor
- Ric Battellino, Deputy Governor
- Ken Henry, Secretary to the Treasury
- Jillian Broadbent
- Donald McGauchie
- Warwick McKibbin
- Roger Corbett
- Graham Kraehe
- John Akehurst
Meetings of the Reserve Bank Board
The board normally meets in Sydney eleven times each year, on the first Tuesday of each month, except January (when no meeting is held). One meeting each year is held in Melbourne, usually in the first half of the year [1]. From time to time other meetings are held in other Australian Capitals.
Governors
The Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia is the most senior position in the Reserve Bank of Australia. The Governor is appointed by the Treasurer for a term of up to seven years (reappointment for another term is possible).
| Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia | Term as Governor |
| Glenn Stevens | September 2006 – |
| Ian Macfarlane | September 1996 – September 2006 |
| Bernie Fraser | September 1989 – September 1996 |
| Robert Alan Johnston | August 1982 – July 1989 |
| Sir Harold Knight | July 1975 – August 1982 |
| Sir John Phillips | July 1968 – July 1975 |
| Dr. Herbert Coombs | January 1960 – July 1968 |
| Governor of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia | Term as Governor |
| Dr. Herbert Coombs | January 1949 – January 1960 |
| Sir Hugh Armitage | July 1941 – December 1948 |
| Sir Henry Sheehan | February 1938 – March 1941 |
| Sir Ernest Riddle | October 1926 – February 1938 |
| James Kell | October 1924 – October 1926 |
| Sir Denison Miller | June 1912 – June 1923 |
See also
- Australian dollar
- Australian Prudential Regulation Authority
- Australian Bank Notes Tax Act 1910
- Central bank
- Note Printing Australia
- Official Cash Rate
- Royal Australian Mint
External links
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Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 15 December 2008, at 08:42.
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