In addition to a. performing financial intermediation, banks are important in that they create a medium of exchange. b. serving as financial markets, mutual funds are important in that they create a store of value. c. serving as stores of value, stocks and bonds also serve as media of exchange. d. all of the above are correct.

The correct answer is a. performing financial intermediation, banks are important in that they help create a medium of exchange.

Explanation:

The importance of a financial system and the role of banks for the prosperity of countries has long been accepted in economic analysis. They are essential for the general evolution of an economy, being its mission to make an effective allocation of economic resources, achieve both monetary and financial stability and provide maximum security in payment systems. Banks play a central role within the institutions that make up the financial system, which is why their high participation and influence in the economic activity of the countries. Banks play a very specific role in the free market economy, such as acting as financial intermediaries between bidders and fund claimants. On the one hand, they have the capacity to stimulate and receive the savings of a society, and on the other, distribute it among the economic agents that need it to carry out their consumption and investment activities.

In this context, most of their operations are related to the efficient allocation of the resources they capture, an essential function for the functioning of the productive economy and, consequently, for the countries' own economic development. In countries that do not have alternative sources of financing, the banking sector can determine and alter the trajectory of economic progress, especially through the financial intermediation process. Banks, as financial intermediaries, acquire high responsibilities, since they must carry out the distribution and allocation of credit in the most efficient manner, as well as protect savings deposits in all their modalities.

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