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The Bank of Canada, BoC ((フランス語:Banque du Canada)) is Canada's central bank.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://www.bankofcanada.ca/financial-system/lender-of-last-resort/ )〕 The Bank was chartered by and under the ''Bank of Canada Act'' on July 3, 1934, as a privately-owned corporation. In 1938, the Bank was legally designated a federal Crown corporation. The Minister of Finance holds the entire share capital issued by the bank. "The capital shall be divided into one hundred thousand shares of the par value of fifty dollars each, which shall be issued to the Minister to be held by the Minister on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada." The essential role of the Bank, as Canada's central bank, is to "promote the economic and financial well-being of Canada."〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://www.bankofcanada.ca/about/faq/ )〕 More specifically, the responsibilities of the Bank are: * the formulation of monetary policy;〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.bankofcanada.ca/about/what-we-do/what-is-monetary-policy/ )〕 * as the sole issuing authority of Canadian banknotes;〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://www.bankofcanada.ca/about/what-we-do/currency/ )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Banknote Printing and Currency Processing )〕 * the promotion of a safe, sound financial system within Canada;〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://www.bankofcanada.ca/about/what-we-do/what-is-the-financial-system/ )〕 and * funds management and central banking services "for the federal government, the Bank and other clients."〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://www.bankofcanada.ca/about/what-we-do/funds-management/ )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.bankofcanada.ca/about/faq/ )〕 The Bank of Canada headquarters are located at the Bank of Canada Building, in the nation's capital, Ottawa. The edifice also houses the Currency Museum, which opened in December, 1980.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://www.currencymuseum.ca/about-museum/ )〕 ==History== On March 11, 1935, the Bank of Canada began operations, following the granting of Royal Assent to the ''Bank of Canada Act''. Initially, the Bank had been founded as a privately-owned corporation, a move taken in order to ensure the Bank would be free from partisan political influence. Earlier, in 1933, Prime Minister R.B. Bennett had instituted the Royal Commission on Banking and Currency and it reported its policy recommendations in favour of the establishment of a Central Bank for Canada. The Royal Commission's members had consisted of Britain's chief propagandist during the early part of World War II, Lord Macmillan, who supported central banking, as well as various British and Canadian bankers. Gerald Grattan McGeer was one of the most forceful voices in Canada advocating government intervention in the monetary system, and the nationalization of the credit system. His vision of monetary reform had predated the establishment of the Bank of Canada. Also involved was John Edward Brownlee, the then-Premier of Alberta, petitioning in favor of a central bank because western farmers wanted government-cost-regulated credit. In 1938, under Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, the Bank of Canada, by Act of the Parliament of Canada became "''a special type of'' " Crown corporation. "The Bank shall be under the management of a Board of Directors composed of a Governor, a Deputy Governor and twelve directors appointed in accordance with this Act. ... The Governor and Deputy Governor shall be appointed by the directors with the approval of the Governor in Council." "Before a person starts to act as a director, an officer or an employee of the Bank, he or she shall take an oath, or make a solemn affirmation, of fidelity and secrecy, in the form set out in the schedule, before a commissioner for taking affidavits." Prior to the creation of the Bank of Canada, HM Canadian Treasury had been responsible for printing Canada's banknotes. The Bank of Montreal, then the nation's largest bank, acted as the government's banker. A major proponent was the Royal Bank of Canada, which wanted to see the government business taken away from its rival. When the central bank was founded, the Government of Canada claimed it was constrained by its foreign debts and it would be less costly to borrow money if it could be repaid in debased currency. The Government also claimed it was constrained by its inability to deal directly on Canada's foreign debts. The farmers were joined by manufacturing interests and other groups in favor of a depreciating currency, all demanding the institution of a central bank. The original name, the Bank of Canada (commercial), had been a private bank and was therefore renamed the Canadian Bank of Commerce. In 1949, the private banks were ordered to remove their currency from circulation, and the Bank of Canada then became the sole issuer of legal tender banknotes in and under Canada.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://www.bankofcanada.ca/banknotes/bank-note-series/ )〕 The Bank played an important role in financing Canada's war effort during World War II by printing money and buying the government's debt. After the war, the Bank's role was expanded as it was mandated to encourage economic growth in Canada. An Act of Parliament in September 1944 established the subsidiary Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) to stimulate investment in Canadian businesses. Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's central-bank monetary policy was directed towards increasing the money supply to generate low interest rates, and incentivize full employment. When inflation began to rise in the early 1960s, then-Governor James Coyne ordered a reduction in the Canadian money supply. Since the 1980s, keeping inflation low has been the main priority of the Bank of Canada. In the early 1990s, the fractional-reserve banking rules of Canada were changed, so that the Bank of Canada could no longer dictate the amount of fiat currency reserves that Canadian (private) chartered banks must own. Since that time, the fractional-reserve currency reserves of Canada's chartered banks have been internal corporate bank policy. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bank of Canada」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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