6. Us Federal Reserve

1. Before listening Read the following biodata of 2 Chairmen of the United States Federal Reserve. What else do you know about these people?

Alan Greenspan (born March 6, 1926) is an American economist who served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006. He currently works as a private advisor and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC. First appointed Federal Reserve chairman by President Ronald Reagan in August 1987, he was reappointed at successive four-year intervals until retiring on January 31, 2006 after the second-longest tenure in the position.

Ben Shalom Bernanke (pronounced /bərˈnæŋki/ bər-nan-kee; born December 13, 1953) is an American economist, and the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States. During his tenure as Chairman, Bernanke has overseen the response of the Federal Reserve to late-2000s financial crisis. Mr Bernanke was voted The Personality of the year 2009 by the Time.

2. When listening The US Federal Reserve – how it works ҉ Listen to this radio programme where the presenter is interviewing an economist about the US Federal Reserve. Decide whether these statements are true or false.

1. Alan Greenspan was the previous Governor of the Federal Reserve.

2. Greenspan talked a lot in the media.

3. Ben Bernanke's economic ideas are very different from those held by Greenspan.

4. The number of new houses being built has grown over the last few months.

5. People do not expect Mr Bernanke to raise the interest rate.

3. Internet Research Find out which Chairman the following headings are about.

• Controversies as Federal Reserve Chairman

• Merrill Lynch merger with Bank of America

• AIG bailout

• Housing bubble

• Deficit reduction and reform of Social Security / Medicare

• Late 2000s recession

• Politicization of office

4. Internet Research What is the difference between the Central Bank of a country and the US FED? Make a table for comparison and presentation.

7. Grameen Bank

1. Before listening Discuss the following issues.

1. You have read a lot about conventional banking. What other financial institutions can you remember?

2. If you were a banker what would the smallest reasonable amount be that you would agree to lend? Would it be profitable for your bank?

3. You need to borrow $100 for two days. What about borrowing from your family member? What about borrowing from a friend? What about borrowing from a colleague? Think of advantages and disadvantages of taking a loan from them.

2. Before listening There are 16 words from the audio text in the box. Below are sentences which contain these words. Complete the sentences with the correct words.

afford, allows, approach, borrow, borrowers, collateral, encourages, lend, lent, loan, paid, peer pressure, poor, poverty, repay, repayments

1. It's difficult for the ____________________ to break free of the cycle of ________________________.

2. The woman that Yunus met couldn’t _____________________ to buy bamboo to make her stools.

3. Yunus ___________________ twenty-seven dollars to the people in the village and they ____________________ all of it back.

4. Conventional banks don't want to _____________________ money to poor people because they don't have any ______________________.

5. The Grameen bank started a new ______________________ to lending money.

6. The Grameen bank ___________________ people to make small ____________________ over a year.

7. People can't ____________________ more money if they don't pay back the first ____________________.

8. The majority of Grameen _______________________ are women.

9. There is _____________________ from the rest of the group to ______________________ the money.

10. The Grameen system ______________________ people to make their lives better.

3. When listening ҉ Comprehension questions:

1. When and how did the Grameen bank start? What is the new approach to lending money?

2. What is the principle difference between conventional banking system and Grameen?

3. Why are repayment rates high in Grameen?

4. What is a Grameen social programme?

5. Are there any bad loans in Grameen?

6. Can such a scheme pick up in the developed countries?

4. After listening Discuss the following questions:

1. Is there any alternative for the Grameen bank in the developing countries?

2. Do you think such a bank has any perspectives for the development in Russia?

3. The repayment rate at Grameen bank is 99%. What are the reasons for this? Is it possible to achieve such a figure in commercial banks?