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The most useful way to examine the depository function of the commercial banking system is to look at the purposes for which money is deposited. Again, the average person's concept is likely to be misleading -- "For convenience," he says, "or for safety." These are partial truths that shed little light on the functional role of banks as depositories.考察商业银行体系的存款职能，最有用的方法就是观察它存钱的用途。再说，普通人的观念容易被误导—他会说，“存款是为了方便，或者是为了安全。”银行作为保管人的职能还没有说清楚，这些说法只对了一半。Demand deposits in commercial banks constitute the major portion of the money supply.(1) A primary function of money is its use as a means of payment. Consequently, one of the most important reasons for becoming a bank depositor is to use the payment facilities of the commercial banking system. Demand deposits also frequently consist of funds kept with a bank to support credit requirements or to compensate the bank for a wide variety of banking services. All such funds can be collectively designated working balances. Whether held by individuals or corporations, working balances are funds needed in the transaction of daily business and cannot be invested even temporarily. They are funds that must be kept in the most liquid of all forms -- money.商业银行的活期存款构成了货币供给的主要组成部分。（1）货币的基本职能是充当支付手段。因此，成为银行存款人最重要的原因之一是利用商业银行体系的支付便利。活期存款通常由存放在银行的资金构成，以维持信贷需求或对银行的各种各样的金融服务提供补偿。所有这类资金都可以挪作流动资金使用。不管是个人还是企业，流动资金是日常业务中进行交易所需的资金，不能用于投资，甚至是临时的投资也不行。它们必须以最流动的形式—现金，存放在银行。Money has another primary function--that of providing a reservoir of purchasing power for the future. It shares this attribute with a number of other assets that can normally be exchanged for money on short notice and with minimum risk of loss. Such assets include short-term government securities, commercial paper, bankers' acceptances, and, for individuals, funds held in depository forms, such as bank sayings deposits or savings and loan share accounts. These assets are held for reasons of liquidity (known or anticipated future expenditures) and, in contrast with working balances and longer-term savings, may be designated investment funds or liquidity reserves. Such funds generally seek the highest available interest return consistent with ready or specific availability at minimum risk.货币还有另外一个基本职能—提供未来购买力蓄水池的职能。它与许多其它资产，即在正常情况下一经通知即可变现且损失风险最低的资产一样，都具有这种属性。这类资产包括短期政府债券、商业票据、银行承兑，对个人而言，包括以存款形式持有的资金，如银行储蓄存款或存贷合用账户等。持有这些资产是为了流动性需要（已知或预期的未来开支），而且，与营运余额和长期储蓄相比，可以用作投资基金或流动性储备。此类资金通常寻找较高的与最低风险准备或可动用资金一致的可动用利息收益。Finally, funds may be deposited in commercial banks for accumulated savings purposes. Such funds are usually accumulated by individuals over relatively long periods of time for nonspecific purposes, such as the proverbial rainy day, retirement, or unknown personal emergencies. These funds have greater stability than investment funds, and the latter, in turn, are less volatile than working balances.最终，在商业银行存放资金的目的是积累储蓄。此类资金往往是由个人在比较长的期间没有具体用途，诸如谚语中所说的不测风云、退休养老、突如其来的个人急事等，累积起来的。这些资金比投资基金有更大的稳定性，而投资基金的稳定性要比流动资金高一些。Notes(1):The money supply is usually defined as currency outside commercial banks plus demand deposits held by the public. The amount of demand deposits outstanding is not, however, an accurate measure of their importance as money, because of their relatively rapid turnover.注（1）：货币供给通常定义为商业银行以外的货币加公众持有的活期存款。然而，未偿还活期存款的金额，因为其较快的周转速度，并不能作为货币这一重要性的准确衡量标准。 |
