to bank. Certificates relieved the strain on the bank's cash flow, thus reducing the likelihood of a run on deposits. Member banks had to do weekly audits, keep minimum reserve levels and log daily settlement of balances which further assured more ordered, efficient exchanges. Calming the panics, 1853-1913 Between 1853 and 1913, the U.S. experienced rapid economic expansion as well as ten financial panics. One of the Clearing House's first challenges was the panic of 1857. When the panic began, leaders of the member banks met and devised a plan that would shorten the duration of the panic–and more importantly, maintain public confidence in the banking system. When specie payments were suspended, the Clearing House issued loan certificates that could be used to settle accounts. Known as Clearing House Loan Certificates, they were, in effect, quasi-currency, backed not by gold but by discounted county and state bank notes held by member banks. Bearing the words “Payable Through the Clearing House,” a Clearing House Loan Certificate was the joint liability of all the member banks, and thus, in lieu of specie, a most secure form of payment. The certificates appeared in smaller denominations during the panic of 1873, and continued to be used as a substitute currency among the member banks for settlement purposes during panics in subsequent decades, including the Panic of 1893. Although they represented a potential violation of federal law against privately issued currencies, these certificates, as a contemporary observer noted, “performed so valuable a service…in moving the crops and keeping business machinery in motion, that the government…wisely forbore to prosecute.” In 1913, Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act, thus creating an independent, federal clearing system modeled on the many private clearing houses that had sprung up across America. The new monetary system, with its stringent audits and minimum reserve standards, assumed the role that clearing houses had played. Clearing process during the 20th century Since the inception of the Federal Reserve System, the New York Clearing House has concentrated on facilitating the smooth completion of financial transactions by clearing the payments. The clearing process, while highly structured, is in theory, quite simple. Member banks exchange checks, coupons and other certificates of value among themselves, after which the Clearing House records the resulting charges to their accounts. Entries are posted on the books of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to settle any differences. Settlement is prepared