Hi Tommaso, I don't know much about the reserves banks are required to maintain, but I have been researching related issues for a book I am contemplating on the causes of the Great Depression of 1929. A lot of material is posted on the net, as we all know, but I just found that entire works by economists are available for download, and if you are a history buff, you could spend the rest of your life, probably, on the topic of money and banking. Here are a couple I like so far:
Sidgwick's "What is Money?" 1879:
panoramix.univ-paris1.fr
Bagehot's "Lombard Street - a Description of the Money Market"
socserv2.mcmaster.ca
As you are no doubt aware, when a bank loans money, it does so by use of a promissory note, which may or may not be backed by a pledge of collateral, e.g., real propery for a mortgage, movable property for a financing statement, etc. Unsecured promissory notes of a nationally known, prime quality corporation with an initial maturity of less than 270 days are commercial paper. But financing statements are also commercial paper, and can be bought and sold, and so can mortgages. Individual loans are only as good as the borrower who made them, and if backed by collateral, as good as the collateral.
I have seen nothing to suggest that US banking system is in danger of imminent collapse, but I, too, am not pleased with what is known about the level of borrowing by hedge funds. I look forward to further congressional inquiry. I would also like to see more inquiry into currency speculation.
CobaltBlue
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