Banks have few good lending opportunities, and so they’re not trying to attract deposits. As a result, they are keeping nearly $ trillion of reserves at the Fed in excess of what they need to back their deposits. In other words, banks have the licenses to create money, but are choosing not to do so.
While the expansion in overseas economies is likely to continue, the increase in exports is likely to slow down as restocking activity in Asian economies has peaked out. Meanwhile, imports are projected to continue increasing, particularly for those of information-related goods. Therefore, real exports will level off for a while.