The Banks and Banking Portal
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
As banks play an important role in financial stability and the economy of a country, most jurisdictions exercise a high degree of regulation over banks. Most countries have institutionalized a system known as fractional-reserve banking, under which banks hold liquid assets equal to only a portion of their current liabilities. In addition to other regulations intended to ensure liquidity, banks are generally subject to minimum capital requirements based on an international set of capital standards, the Basel Accords. (Full article...)
Selected banking articles
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Image 4Electronic bill payment is a feature of online, mobile and telephone banking, similar in its effect to a giro, allowing a customer of a financial institution to transfer money from their transaction or credit card account to a creditor or vendor such as a public utility, department store or an individual to be credited against a specific account. These payments are typically executed electronically as a direct deposit through a national payment system, operated by the banks or in conjunction with the government. Payment is typically initiated by the payer but can also be set up as a direct debit. In addition to the bill payment facility, most banks will also offer various features with their electronic bill payment systems. These include the ability to schedule payments in advance to be made on a specified date (convenient for installments such as mortgage and support payments), to save the biller information for reuse at a future time and various options for searching the recent payment history. In many cases the payment data can also be downloaded and posted directly into the customer's accounting or personal finance software. ( Full article...)
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Image 6A debit card, also known as a check card, cheque card or bank card, is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The card usually consists of the bank's name, a card number, the cardholder's name, and an expiration date, on either the front or the back. Many new cards now have a chip on them, which allows people to use their card by touch (contactless), or by inserting the card and keying in a PIN as with swiping the magnetic stripe. Debit cards are similar to a credit card, but the money for the purchase must be in the cardholder's bank account at the time of the purchase and is immediately transferred directly from that account to the merchant's account to pay for the purchase. Some debit cards carry a stored value with which a payment is made (prepaid cards), but most relay a message to the cardholder's bank to withdraw funds from the cardholder's designated bank account. In some cases, the payment card number is assigned exclusively for use on the Internet, and there is no physical card. This is referred to as a virtual card. ( Full article...)
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Image 7The Bank War was a political struggle that developed over the issue of rechartering the Second Bank of the United States (B.U.S.) during the presidency of Andrew Jackson (1829–1837). This resulted in the shutdown of the Bank and its replacement by state banks. The Second Bank of the United States was chartered for twenty years as a private institution with exclusive authority to operate on a national scale. While its stated purpose was to stabilize the American economy through a uniform currency and stronger federal presence, critics questioned whom it truly served. Supporters claimed that the Bank helped regulate prices, extend credit, provide a reliable currency, and offer essential services to the Treasury. However, Jacksonian Democrats and other opponents highlighted troubling examples of favoritism, alleging that the Bank catered to wealthy merchants and speculators while sidelining farmers, artisans, and small businesses. They pointed to the Bank's use of public funds for risky private ventures and its entanglement in political affairs as evidence of undue influence. For many, its blend of public authority and private profit was unconstitutional and eroded democratic ideals and state sovereignty. To its detractors, the Bank was a symbol of elite privilege and a potential threat to individual liberty. ( Full article...)
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Image 9Money creation, or money issuance, is the process by which the money supply of a country or economic region is increased. In most modern economies, both central banks and commercial banks create money. Central banks issue money as a liability, typically called reserve deposits, which is available only for use by central bank account holders. These account holders are generally large commercial banks and foreign central banks. Central banks can increase the quantity of reserve deposits directly by making loans to account holders, purchasing assets from account holders, or by recording an asset (such as a deferred asset) and directly increasing liabilities. However, the majority of the money supply that the public uses for conducting transactions is created by the commercial banking system in the form of commercial bank deposits. Bank loans issued by commercial banks expand the quantity of bank deposits. ( Full article...)
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Image 10A community development bank ( CDB) or Community Development Financial Institution ( CDFI) is a development bank or credit union that focus on serving people who have been locked out of the traditional financial systems such as the unbanked or underbanked in deprived local communities. They emphasize the long term development of communities and provide loans such as micro-finance or venture capital. In the United States these became popular after 1994 when the US Congress created community development banks and allowed them to get funding at very low rates from the US treasury. ( Full article...)
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Image 1Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) ( Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈkajʃɐ ʒɨˈɾal dɨ ðɨˈpɔzituʃ]) is a Portuguese state-owned banking corporation, and the largest bank in Portugal, established in Lisbon in 1876. CGD now has presence in 23 countries spanning four continents through branches, representative offices or direct equity interests in local financial institutions. CGD is the largest Portuguese financial group, with the highest domestic market shares in key areas such as customer deposits, loans and advances to customers, mortgages, insurance, mutual funds and real estate leasing (11.4%). Based on assets, it ranks 109 in terms of the world's major banks. CGD is the 69th largest European bank. ( Full article...)
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Image 2Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as five divisions: the UK Consumer Bank, UK Corporate Bank, Private Bank and Wealth Management (PBWM), Investment Bank, and the US Consumer Bank. Barclays traces its origins to the goldsmith banking business established in the City of London in 1690 by John Freame and Thomas Gould. James Barclay became a partner in the business in 1736. In 1896, twelve banks in London and the English provinces, including Goslings Bank, Backhouse's Bank and Gurney, Peckover and Company, united as a joint-stock bank under the name Barclays and Co. Over the following decades, Barclays expanded to become a nationwide bank. In 1967, Barclays deployed the world's first cash dispenser. Barclays has made numerous corporate acquisitions, including of London, Provincial and South Western Bank in 1918, British Linen Bank in 1919, Mercantile Credit in 1975, the Woolwich in 2000 and the North American operations of Lehman Brothers in 2008. ( Full article...)
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Image 6The Agricultural Bank of China ( ABC), also known as AgBank, is a Chinese largely state-owned multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Beijing, China. It is one of the " big four" banks in China, and the second largest bank in the world by total assets, behind the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. ABC was founded on 10 July 1951, and has its headquarters in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It has branches throughout mainland China, Hong Kong, London, Tokyo, New York, Frankfurt, Sydney, Seoul, and Singapore. ABC has 320 million retail customers, 2.7 million corporate clients, and nearly 24,000 branches. It is China's third-largest lender by assets. ABC went public in mid-2010, fetching the world's biggest ever initial public offering (IPO) at the time, since overtaken by the Saudi Arabian state-run petroleum enterprise, Saudi Aramco. In 2011, it ranked eighth among the Top 1000 World Banks, by 2015, it ranked third in Forbes' 13th annual Global 2000 list and in 2017 it ranked fifth. In 2023, Agricultural Bank of China was ranked No. 4 in Forbes' Global 2000 (World's Largest Public Companies). It is considered a systemically important bank by the Financial Stability Board. ( Full article...)
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Image 10Credit Suisse Group AG ( French pronunciation: [kʁe.di sɥis], lit. 'Swiss Credit') was a global investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. According to UBS, eventually Credit Suisse was to be fully integrated into UBS. While the integration was yet to be completed, both banks operated separately. However, on May 31, 2024, it was announced that Credit Suisse ceased to exist. Headquartered in Zürich, as a standalone firm, it maintained offices in all major financial centres around the world and provided services in investment banking, private banking, asset management, and shared services. It was known for strict bank–client confidentiality and banking secrecy. The Financial Stability Board considered it to be a global systemically important bank. Credit Suisse was also a primary dealer and Forex counterparty of the Federal Reserve in the United States. Credit Suisse was founded in 1856 to fund the development of Switzerland's rail system. It issued loans that helped create Switzerland's electrical grid and the European rail system. In the 1900s, it began shifting to retail banking in response to the elevation of the middle class and competition from fellow Swiss banks UBS and Julius Bär. Credit Suisse partnered with First Boston in 1978 before buying a controlling share of the bank in 1988. From 1990 to 2000, the company purchased institutions such as Winterthur Group, Swiss Volksbank, Swiss American Securities Inc. (SASI), and Bank Leu. ( Full article...)
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Image 1Commerce Tower in Montreal, designed by Peter Dickinson, was begun for the Bank of Commerce but was not completed until after the merger with the Imperial Bank. (from Canadian Bank of Commerce)
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Image 2Former branch in Tampere (from Bank of Finland)
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Image 3The 1909 Standard Bank Building at King and Jordan in Toronto, designed by Darling and Pearson. (from Standard Bank of Canada)
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Image 4Branch of Nepal Bank in Pokhara, Western Nepal. (from Bank)
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Image 5Large door to an old bank vault. (from Bank)
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Image 6Statesman Jan van den Brink was instrumental in the merger of Amsterdamsche Bank and Rotterdamsche Bank in 1964, and remained on the bank's board until 1978 (from AMRO Bank)
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Image 7Suburban bank branch (from Bank)
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Image 8The bank's 1890 head office, designed by Richard Alfred Waite. It was demolished in 1928 to make way for the bank's new headquarters. (from Canadian Bank of Commerce)
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Image 9Sederholm House in Helsinki, the Bank's seat from 1819 to 1824 (from Bank of Finland)
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Image 10A former building society, now a modern retail bank in Leeds, West Yorkshire. (from Bank)
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Image 11Former branch in Oulu (from Bank of Finland)
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Image 12Former branch in Turku (from Bank of Finland)
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Image 13Carved sign for The Standard Bank of Canada, in Brechin, Ontario. (from Standard Bank of Canada)
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Image 15Former branch in Viipuri, now Vyborg, Russia (from Bank of Finland)
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Image 16An HSBC Bank Canada branch in Toronto, 2008 (from HSBC Bank Canada)
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Image 18Beethovenstraat branch in Amsterdam, 1970 (from AMRO Bank)
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Image 19An illustration of Northern National Bank as advertized in a 1921 book highlighting the opportunities available in Toledo, Ohio (from Bank)
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Image 20National Bank of the Republic, Salt Lake City 1908 (from Bank)
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Image 21Helsinki head office extension designed by Harry W. Schreck in the late 1950s (from Bank of Finland)
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Image 22Bank of Finland strong box which moved to Helsinki with the bank when it relocated from Turku (from Bank of Finland)
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Image 24Rotterdam head office, later repurposed as a shopping center (from AMRO Bank)
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Image 25National Copper Bank, Salt Lake City 1911 (from Bank)
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Image 26Former branch in Kotka (from Bank of Finland)
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Image 27OTP Bank in Prešov (Slovakia) (from Bank)
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Image 28Branch of the Standard Bank of Canada in Markham, Ontario, shown in 1912. (from Standard Bank of Canada)
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Image 29This 15th-century painting depicts money-dealers at a banca (bench) during the Cleansing of the Temple. (from Bank)
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Image 30Citibank, The People's Trust Company Building, Brooklyn, New York City. (from Bank)
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Image 31Amsterdam head office before 1987, lately headquarters of Booking.com (from AMRO Bank)
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Image 32Sealing of the Bank of England Charter (1694), by Lady Jane Lindsay, 1905. (from Bank)
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Image 33Interior of the Helsinki Branch of the Vyborg-Bank in the 1910s (from Bank)
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Image 34The HSBC Canada Building in Vancouver housed the headquarters for HSBC's Canadian subsidiary (from HSBC Bank Canada)
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Image 35Global headquarters of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel (from Bank)
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Image 36Former branch in Sortavala, now in Russia (from Bank of Finland)
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Image 37From 1867 to 1890 the bank was headquartered at 59 Yonge Street. This was the 1852 Ross, Mitchell & Co. Building, designed by William Thomas. (from Canadian Bank of Commerce)
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Image 38The Bank's current head office completed in 1883, with statue of J.V. Snellman by sculptor Emil Wikström in front (from Bank of Finland)
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Image 39An office of Nordea bank in Mariehamn, Åland (from Bank)
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Image 40An interior of a branch of National Westminster Bank on Castle Street, Liverpool (from Bank)
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Image 41Government Palace in Helsinki, the Bank's home from 1824 until relocation to its current building in 1883 (from Bank of Finland)
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Image 42Safra National Bank, New York (from Bank)
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Image 43A Banco do Brasil office in São Paulo, Brazil, the bank is the largest financial institution in Brazil and Latin America. (from Bank)
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Image 44An HSBC Bank Canada branch in Richmond Hill, Ontario, 2014 (from HSBC Bank Canada)
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Image 45SEB main building in Tallinn, Estonia (from Bank)
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Image 46An American bank in Maryland. (from Bank)
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Image 47Standard Bank of Canada branch in Brechin, Ontario. Empty as of 2014, the building was later used as a Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce branch, until they moved to the other side of the street. (from Standard Bank of Canada)
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Banks
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