Quote from ProfitTakgFool:
The reserve requirement is obsolete. When a bank lends 40x what they take in the reserve requirement is meaningless. Even commercial banks can lend more than 90% of their deposits. The US does not operate on a Reserve Requirement system like they teach in textbooks. The US operates on a perpetual debt system. It's a ponzi scheme, similar to what Madoff was doing. Madoff needed that next deposit to keep it going. The US economy needs that next loan. There isn't much difference.
reserve requirements is just a tool for monetary policy, its not supposed to be about risk or leverage in the banking system. thats what capital adequacy ratios are for