Final answer:
The bank has $5 million in excess reserves, which is calculated by subtracting the required reserves ($15 million) from the actual reserves ($20 million).
Therefore, the bank is holding $5 million in excess reserves.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question is asking to calculate the amount of excess reserves a bank is holding given that the Federal Reserve has set the reserve ratio at 10%, the bank has deposits of $150 million, and reserves of $20 million.
To find out the excess reserves, we first calculate the required reserves: 10% of $150 million is $15 million. Since the bank has actual reserves of $20 million, we subtract the required reserves ($15 million) from the actual reserves ($20 million) to determine the excess reserves.
Excess reserves = Actual reserves - Required reserves
Excess reserves = $20 million - $15 million
Excess reserves = $5 million