Forex

The central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority, is the entity responsible for the monetary policy of a country or of a group of member states. Its primary responsibility is to maintain the stability of the national currency and money supply, but more active duties include controlling subsidized-loan interest rates, and acting as a "bailout" lender of last resort to the banking sector during times of financial crisis (private banks often being integral to the national financial system). It may also have supervisory powers, to ensure that banks and other financial institutions do not behave recklessly or fraudulently.

Most richer countries today have an "independent" central bank--- that is, one which operates under rules designed to prevent political interference. Examples include the European Central Bank, the Nederlandsche Bank, the Banco Central de Chile, the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Reserve Bank of India, the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada, Sveriges Riksbank, the Banco de la República de Colombia, Norges Bank, State Bank of Pakistan, National Bank of Azerbaijan and the U.S. Federal Reserve. Some central banks are publicly-owned, and others are, in theory, privately-owned. In practice, there is little difference between public and private ownership, since in the latter case almost all profits of the bank are paid to the government either as a tax or a transfer to the government.