Bank reserves are banks' holdings of deposits in accounts with their central bank (for instance the European Central Bank or the Federal Reserve, in the later case called federal funds), plus currency that is physically held in banks' vaults (vault cash). The central bank sets minimum reserve requirements. A bank is an institution that provides financial service, particularly taking deposits and extending credit. ... Deposit may refer to: Finance A deposit is a specific sum of money taken and held on account, by a bank as a service provided for its clients. ... The European Central Bank (ECB) (French: Banque Centrale Europeénne, German: Europäische Zentralbank) is the Central Bank of the EU (the Eurozone precisely) and in charge of monetary policy for the 12 EU countries that currently use the Euro currency. ... The Federal Reserve System is headquartered in the Eccles Building on Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC. The Federal Reserve System (also the Federal Reserve; informally The Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. ... Federal Funds transactions redistribute bank reserves. ... In architecture, a vault is an arched structure of masonry, forming a ceiling or canopy. ... Reserve requirements, a tool of monetary policy, are computed as percentages of deposits that banks must hold as vault cash or on deposit at the central bank (in the United States in a Federal Reserve Bank), rather than, perhaps, lend out. ...

The Bank of England uses the term rest to describe the same concept. The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom, sometimes known as The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street or The Old Lady. The nearest London Underground station is Bank station. ...

See also

• Official gold reserves
• Monetary base