Central Banks, or Reserve Banks, or just Banks?

As Big Money Gazer gazes over the worldwide money landscape, he finds plenty of Central Banks complete with theories of central banking and college courses on central banking. But there are also "Reserve Banks" and "State Banks" and sometimes just "Bank of (name of country here)". 

And then there is "The Fed". Just like that, "The Fed". Like everybody is supposed to know what "The Fed" is. 

Little wonder that the Internet is rife with conspiracy theories about "The Fed". The central bank of the country that abolished central banks. Twice. 

Just do a search about "The First Bank of the United States". And then do another search about "The Second Bank of the United States". 

 You will find all kinds of gory details about both the First and the Second "Bank of the United States", including their ignominious ends. 

But should you search for "The Third Bank of the United States", you will find precious little, if anything. The "United States" got smart. Who says everybody has to have a prominent, explicit Central Bank, glaringly, out in the open--a bank that everybody can blame for everything?

Why not just have conspiracy theories instead? 

Big Money Gazer believes that this is a most unfortunate situation. Every central bank, anywhere in the world, deserves its very own set of conspiracy theories to hide behind. To obscure and muddle the prosaic and not always straightforward details of central banking. All in the interest of equality.

So as a first step, Big Money Gazer proposes to collect the names of as many central banks as I can find, classified by how they write their names, on the assumption that their names are their first line of defense. The first step on spinning whatever they do into something that they should do, or at least into something that they don't quite do. But definitely, to hide what they actually do.

Explicitly, the name of a central bank should be the point of departure towards creating all kinds of wonderful conspiracy theories, geared towards obfuscating their activities, and frustrating anybody that inappropriately "wants to know". The nosy jerks.

Except that "The Fed" may be excluded from this list. "The Fed" has plenty of conspiracy theories already.

This post is meant to be a perennial work in progress, added to as I gaze into more and more banks of all kinds and qualities. Enjoy from time to time. 

 

CENTRAL BANKS

RESERVE BANKS

Reserve Bank of Vanuatu , though this was formerly a Central Bank.

STATE BANKS

 

JUST BANKS