<P> A lender of last resort ( LOLR ) is the lender ( provider of liquidity ) , which since the beginning of the 20th century has usually been a central bank , that supplies liquidity to a financial institution or to the financial market in general when it is lacking . The goal is to prevent financial panics and bank runs spreading from one bank to the next from a lack of liquidity . Different definitions of the lender of last resort exist in the literature . A comprehensive one is the following : `` the discretionary provision of liquidity to a financial institution ( or the market as a whole ) by the central bank in reaction to an adverse shock which causes an abnormal increase in demand for liquidity which can not be met from an alternative source '' . </P>
<P> A lender of last resort ( LOLR ) is the lender ( provider of liquidity ) , which since the beginning of the 20th century has usually been a central bank , that supplies liquidity to a financial institution or to the financial market in general when it is lacking . The goal is to prevent financial panics and bank runs spreading from one bank to the next from a lack of liquidity . Different definitions of the lender of last resort exist in the literature . A comprehensive one is the following : `` the discretionary provision of liquidity to a financial institution ( or the market as a whole ) by the central bank in reaction to an adverse shock which causes an abnormal increase in demand for liquidity which can not be met from an alternative source '' . </P>
who is the lender of last resort in the us
who is the lender of last resort in the us
a central bank
a central bank