Credit system: its main aspects and principles of functioning

The term "credit system" is considered by experts from several points of view. On the one hand, it includes all credit institutions of different levels involved in the provision of certain banking services. On the other hand, it is a set of rules and principles, on the basis of which the entire banking system functions .

Currently, the credit system of almost all countries includes three main levels. The first level is occupied by the central or national bank of the country. It performs the function of controlling the remaining levels, in addition, such a bank is entitled to issue cash. And this means that he is responsible for regulating the money supply . The central bank of the country performs one of the most important functions: it is storing the gold and foreign exchange reserves. In some cases, it provides loans to government agencies or commercial banks of the lowest levels, and places government securities. The credit system is designed in such a way that the national bank and the state act together in order to achieve certain goals, but do not affect the interests of each other. For example, the main bank of the country implements the tasks developed by the government and specified in the monetary and credit policy of the state.

The second level of the credit system belongs to the aggregate of commercial banks. The main goal of their activity is to receive profit in the maximum amount. This is also their main difference from the central bank, as its functions are regulated and controlled. Commercial credit institutions form the basis of the entire banking system, as they act as intermediaries between the population and the state. According to economic theory, a bank in the full sense of the word can be considered only that organization that performs three main operations: deposit, settlement, credit. The Central Bank, at its own discretion, decides whether to issue a license to a particular bank. And without a license, the latter has no right to carry out its activities, that is, any operations will be declared invalid and illegal.

The credit system of the Russian Federation presupposes the existence of a third level, which includes specialized financial institutions. As a rule, these are those organizations that have the right to offer certain types of transactions, but can not be called a bank in the full sense. These institutions include pension funds, insurance and leasing companies, investment and savings organizations. Thus, their activities include separate banking services. For example, savings organizations are usually created by banks as a separate entity with the purpose of accumulating the money of the population and further their redistribution in the form of loans and loans issued on a short-term basis. The type of long-term credit can be considered pension funds, since they accumulate funds for a long time with the condition of periodic payments in the future. But while the established term has not come, the invested amounts can be disposed of at their own discretion, for example, by providing loans.

This division into levels makes it possible to streamline existing financial institutions, which greatly facilitates the process of control over them. However, not all countries have a financial-credit system divided into three main levels. Some prefer to allocate only the first two, depending on the degree of development of the economy of a country. In addition, the system of each country has its own characteristics. For example, in the United States, there is a state division into individual states, and each state has its own central bank. Thus, the credit system of America at the first level includes 12 national banks.