Bank
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Banking)
For other uses, see Bank (disambiguation).
"Banker" redirects here. For other uses, see Banker (disambiguation).
Financial market
participants
Investors
Speculators
speculation
Institutional investors
Insurance companies
Investment banks
Hedge funds
Mutual funds
Pension funds
Private equity funds
Venture capital funds
Banks
Credit Unions
Trusts
Prime Brokers
Finance series
Financial market
Participants
Corporate finance
Personal finance
Public finance
Banks and Banking
Financial regulation
v • d • e
A banker or bank is a financial institution that acts as a payment agent for customers, and borrows and lends money. In some countries such as Germany and Japan banks are the primary owners of industrial corporations while in other countries such as the United States banks are prohibited from owning non-financial companies.
Banks act as payment agents by conducting current accounts for customers, paying cheques drawn by customers on the bank, and collecting cheques deposited to customers' current accounts. Banks also enable customer payments via other payment methods such as telegraphic transfer, EFTPOS, and ATM.
Banks borrow money by accepting funds deposited on current account, accepting term deposits and by issuing debt securities such as banknotes and bonds. Banks lend money by making advances to customers on current account, by making installment loans, and by investing in marketable debt securities and other forms of lending.
Banks provide almost all payment services, and a bank account is considered indispensable by most businesses, individuals and governments. Non-banks that provide payment services such as remittance companies are not normally considered an adequate substitute for having a bank account.
Banks borrow most funds borrowed from households and non-financial businesses, and lend most funds lent to households and non-financial businesses, but non-bank lenders provide a significant and in many cases adequate substitute for bank loans, and money market funds, cash management trusts and other non-bank financial institutions in many cases provide an adequate substitute to banks for lending savings to.
