ABSTRACT
In literature, there are two schools of thought on the nature of money: an anthropological one and an economic one. The concept of credit money brings us back to the anthropological view that money is a measure for credit relationships. Unlike the anthropologists, most economists in the tradition of Adam Smith stress the role of money as means of exchange. According to their interpretation, economic relations began with the exchange of goods. Banks arrange the issuance of bonds for state authorities as well as for companies. It stands to reason that, as with loans, banks can create money by keeping these bonds on their balance sheets. The central bank aims to influence the lending and money creation process of banks by manipulating interbank lending rates and influencing credit market rates. As it satisfies banks' demand for central bank money, creation of the latter is linked to the credit extension of banks.
