call money

economics

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 22, 2026

Quick Summary

Call money refers to money that is loaned or ready to be loaned on demand. This is also known as a call loan, which is a loan that can be repaid at the borrower's discretion or on the lender's demand. The market for these loans is called the call market.123

In Japan, the call money market is well-developed and primarily involves transactions among financial institutions. Interest rates in this market are relatively free and tend to be higher than most other short-term and long-term rates. City banks are major borrowers, using call funds for liquidity, while local banks, trust banks, and credit cooperatives are significant lenders, attracted by the high yields, liquidity, and low risk. Call brokers facilitate these transactions, though many funds flow directly between institutions.4

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

7 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

money market
The discount houses
…the safety and liquidity of call money that, despite the fractionally lower rate on it compared with other reserve assets, the banks hold about half of their required reserves in this form. This in turn provides the discount houses with a large pool of funds, which they invest in relatively…
Read More
…the safety and liquidity of call money that, despite the fractionally lower rate on it compared with other reserve assets, the banks hold about half of their required reserves in this form. This in turn provides the discount houses with a large pool of funds, which they invest in relatively…
Read More