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...)
Image 1A bank account is a financial account maintained by a bank or other financial institution in which the financial transactions between the bank and a customer are recorded. Each financial institution sets the terms and conditions for each type of account it offers, which are classified in commonly understood types, such as deposit accounts, credit card accounts, current accounts, loan accounts or many other types of account. A customer may have more than one account. Once an account is opened, funds entrusted by the customer to the financial institution on deposit are recorded in the account designated by the customer. Funds can be withdrawn from the accounts in accordance with their terms and conditions. The financial transactions which have occurred on a bank account within a given period of time are reported to the customer on a bank statement, and the balance of the accounts of a customer at any point in time represents their financial position with the institution. ( Full article...)
Image 3The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic or Knickerbocker Crisis, was a financial crisis that took place in the United States over a three-week period starting in mid-October, when the New York Stock Exchange suddenly fell almost 50% from its peak the previous year. The panic occurred during a time of economic recession, and there were numerous runs affecting banks and trust companies. The 1907 panic eventually spread throughout the nation when many state and local banks and businesses entered bankruptcy. The primary causes of the run included a retraction of market liquidity by a number of New York City banks and a loss of confidence among depositors, exacerbated by unregulated side bets at bucket shops. The panic was triggered by the failed attempt in October 1907 to corner the market on stock of the United Copper Company. When the bid failed, banks that had lent money to the cornering scheme suffered runs that later spread to affiliated banks and trusts, leading a week later to the downfall of the Knickerbocker Trust Company, New York City's third-largest trust. The collapse of the Knickerbocker spread fear throughout the city's trusts as regional banks withdrew reserves from New York City banks. The panic then extended across the nation as vast numbers of people withdrew deposits from their regional banks, causing the 8th-largest decline in U.S. stock market history. ( Full article...)
Image 6An industrial loan company ( ILC) or industrial bank is a financial institution in the United States that lends money, and may be owned by non-financial institutions. They provide niche financial services nationwide. ILCs offer FDIC-insured deposits and are subject to FDIC and state regulator oversight. All "FDIC-insured entities are subject to Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act, which limits bank transactions with affiliates, including the non-bank parent company." ILCs are permitted to have branches in multiple states (which is permitted by many states on a reciprocal basis). They are regulated and supervised by state charters and insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. They are authorized to make consumer and commercial loans and accept federally insured deposits. Banks may not accept demand deposits if the bank has total assets greater than $100 million. ILCs are exempted from the Bank Holding Company Act. ILCs assist numerous charities and provide millions of dollars annually in grants, low interest loans, and service through the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Currently, only seven states offer an ILC bank charter. Most ILCs have been chartered by the Utah Department of Financial Institutions. Other states permitting ILCs include California, Colorado, Minnesota, Indiana, Hawaii, and Nevada. ( Full article...)
Image 8A universal bank is a type of bank which participates in many kinds of banking activities and is both a commercial bank and an investment bank as well as providing other financial services such as insurance. These are also called full-service financial firms, although there can also be full-service investment banks which provide wealth and asset management, trading, underwriting, researching as well as financial advisory. The concept is most relevant in the United Kingdom and the United States, where historically there was a distinction drawn between pure investment banks and commercial banks. In the US, this was a result of the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. In both countries, however, since the 1980s the regulatory barrier to the combination of investment banks and commercial banks has largely been removed, and a number of universal banks have emerged in both jurisdictions. ( Full article...)
Image 10Money creation, or money issuance, is the process by which the money supply of a country, or an economic or monetary region, is increased. In most modern economies, money is created by both central banks and commercial banks. Money issued by central banks is a liability, typically called reserve deposits, and is only available for use by central bank account holders, which 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 used by the public 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...)
Image 1UBS Group AG (stylized simply as UBS) is a multinational investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland, with headquarters in both Zurich and Basel. It holds a strong foothold in all major financial centres as the largest Swiss banking institution and the world's largest private bank. UBS manages the largest amount of private wealth in the world, counting approximately half of The World's Billionaires among its clients, with over US$6 trillion in assets (AUM).' Based on international deal flow and political influence, the firm is considered one of the "biggest, most powerful financial institutions in the world". UBS is also a leading market maker and one of the eight global 'Bulge Bracket' banks. Due to its large presence across the Americas, EMEA and Asia–Pacific markets, the Financial Stability Board considers it a global systemically important bank.
UBS investment bankers and private bankers are known for their strict bank–client confidentiality and culture of banking secrecy. Apart from private banking, UBS provides wealth management, asset management and investment banking services for private, corporate and institutional clients with international service. The bank also maintains numerous underground bank vaults, bunkers and storage facilities for gold bars around the Swiss Alps and internationally. UBS acquired rival Credit Suisse in an emergency rescue deal brokered by the Swiss government and its Central bank in 2023, following which UBS' AUM increased to over $5 trillion along with an increased balanced sheet of $1.6 trillion. ('Full article...)
Image 2Caixa 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...)
Image 3The Bank of America Corporation ( Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, with investment banking and auxiliary headquarters in Manhattan. The bank was founded by the merger of NationsBank and Bank of America in 1998. It is the second-largest banking institution in the United States and the second-largest bank in the world by market capitalization, both after JPMorgan Chase. Bank of America is one of the Big Four banking institutions of the United States. and one of eight systemically important financial institutions in the US. It serves about 10 percent of all American bank deposits, in direct competition with JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo. Its primary financial services revolve around commercial banking, wealth management, and investment banking. Through mergers, the oldest branch of the Bank of America franchise can be traced to 1784, when Massachusetts Bank was chartered, the first federally chartered joint-stock owned bank in the United States. Another branch of its history goes back to the U.S.-based Bank of Italy, founded by Amadeo Pietro Giannini in 1904, which provided various banking options to Italian immigrants who faced service discrimination. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Giannini acquired Banca d'America e d'Italia, in 1922 and eventually did business as Bank of America. In the 1950s, passage of landmark federal banking legislation facilitated rapid growth, quickly establishing prominent shares for the present bank's predecessors. After suffering significant losses during the 1998 Russian financial crisis, BankAmerica, as it was then known, was acquired by the Charlotte-based NationsBank for $62 billion. Following what was then the largest bank acquisition in history, the Bank of America Corporation was founded. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, it built upon its commercial banking business by establishing Merrill Lynch for wealth management and Bank of America Merrill Lynch for investment banking in 2008 and 2009, respectively, and since renamed BofA Securities. ( Full article...)
Image 4The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( SAKS) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many international financial centers. Goldman Sachs is the second-largest investment bank in the world by revenue and is ranked 55th on the Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. In the Forbes Global 2000 of 2024, Goldman Sachs ranked 23rd. It is considered a systemically important financial institution by the Financial Stability Board. Goldman Sachs offers services in investment banking (advisory for mergers and acquisitions and restructuring), securities underwriting, prime brokerage, asset management, and wealth management. It is a market maker for many types of financial products and provides clearing and custodian bank services. It operates private-equity funds and hedge funds. It structures complex and tailor-made financial products. It also owns Goldman Sachs Bank USA, a direct bank. It trades both on behalf of its clients ( flow trading) and for its own account ( proprietary trading). The company invests in and arranges financing for startups, and in many cases gets additional business as bookrunner when the companies launch initial public offerings. ( Full article...)
Image 5
Chemical's logo, adopted from Manufacturers Hanover after the banks' merger Chemical Bank, headquartered in New York City, was the principal operating subsidiary of Chemical Banking Corporation, a bank holding company. In 1996, it acquired Chase Bank, adopted the Chase name, and became the largest bank in the United States. Prior to the 1996 merger, Chemical was the third-largest bank in the U.S., with $182.9 billion in assets and more than 39,000 employees. In addition to operations in the U.S., it had a major presence in Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom. It was active in both corporate banking as well as retail banking as well as investment banking and underwriting corporate bonds and equity. The bank was founded in 1824 as a subsidiary of the New York Chemical Manufacturing Company by Balthazar P. Melick and others; the manufacturing operations were sold by 1851. Major acquisitions by the bank included Corn Exchange Bank in 1954, Texas Commerce Bank in 1987, and Manufacturers Hanover in 1991. The bank converted to the holding company format in 1968. ( Full article...)
Image 6Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces its origins to the goldsmith banking business established in the City of London in 1690. 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...)
Image 7ING Group N.V. ( Dutch: ING Groep) is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. Its primary businesses are retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, wholesale banking, private banking, asset management, and insurance services. With total assets of US$967.8 billion, it is one of the biggest banks in the world, and consistently ranks among the largest banks globally. ING is the Dutch member of the Inter-Alpha Group of Banks, a co-operative consortium of 11 prominent European banks. Since in 2012, ING Bank is a member in the list of global systemically important banks. It has been designated as a Significant Institution since the entry into force of European Banking Supervision in late 2014, and as a consequence is directly supervised by the European Central Bank. ( Full article...)
Image 10Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (株式会社三井住友フィナンシャルグループ), initialed as SMFG until 2018 and SMBC Group since, is a major Japanese multinational financial services group and holding company. It is the parent of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), SMBC Trust Bank, and SMBC Nikko Securities. SMBC originates from the 2001 merger of Sumitomo Bank with the Sakura Bank, itself a successor to the Mitsui Bank, and the group holding entity was created in December 2002 after which SMBC became its wholly-owned subsidiary. SMBC Group operates in retail, corporate, and investment banking segment worldwide. It provides financial products and services to a wide range of clients, including individuals, small and medium-sized enterprises, large corporations, financial institutions and public sector entities. It operates in over 40 countries and maintains a presence in all International Financial Centres as the 12th biggest bank in the world by total assets. It is one of the largest global financial institutions in project finance space by total loan value. It is headquartered in the Marunouchi neighborhood of Tokyo. ( Full article...)
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)
Image 2From 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)
Image 4Former branch in Turku (from Bank of Finland)
Image 5Global headquarters of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel (from Bank)
Image 6Amsterdam head office before 1987, lately headquarters of Booking.com (from AMRO Bank)
Image 7Carved sign for The Standard Bank of Canada, in Brechin, Ontario. (from Standard Bank of Canada)
Image 8Helsinki head office extension designed by Harry W. Schreck in the late 1950s (from Bank of Finland)
Image 9An HSBC Bank Canada branch in Toronto, 2008 (from HSBC Bank Canada)
Image 10The 1909 Standard Bank Building at King and Jordan in Toronto, designed by Darling and Pearson. (from Standard Bank of Canada)
Image 11Former branch in Viipuri, now Vyborg, Russia (from Bank of Finland)
Image 12SEB main building in Tallinn, Estonia (from Bank)
Image 13An illustration of Northern National Bank as advertized in a 1921 book highlighting the opportunities available in Toledo, Ohio (from Bank)
Image 14This 15th-century painting depicts money-dealers at a banca (bench) during the Cleansing of the Temple. (from Bank)
Image 15An interior of a branch of National Westminster Bank on Castle Street, Liverpool (from Bank)
Image 16Standard 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)
Image 17A Banco do Brasil office in São Paulo, Brazil, the bank is the largest financial institution in Brazil and Latin America. (from Bank)
Image 18National Bank of the Republic, Salt Lake City 1908 (from Bank)
Image 19Statesman 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)
Image 20An office of Nordea bank in Mariehamn, Åland (from Bank)
Image 21A former building society, now a modern retail bank in Leeds, West Yorkshire. (from Bank)
Image 23An American bank in Maryland. (from Bank)
Image 24Rotterdam head office, later repurposed as a shopping center (from AMRO Bank)
Image 25Safra National Bank, New York (from Bank)
Image 26Bank of Finland strong box which moved to Helsinki with the bank when it relocated from Turku (from Bank of Finland)
Image 27Sederholm House in Helsinki, the Bank's seat from 1819 to 1824 (from Bank of Finland)
Image 28Beethovenstraat branch in Amsterdam, 1970 (from AMRO Bank)
Image 29The HSBC Canada Building in Vancouver housed the headquarters for HSBC's Canadian subsidiary (from HSBC Bank Canada)
Image 30Former branch in Kotka (from Bank of Finland)
Image 31Suburban bank branch (from Bank)
Image 32Citibank, The People's Trust Company Building, Brooklyn, New York City. (from Bank)
Image 33Sealing of the Bank of England Charter (1694), by Lady Jane Lindsay, 1905. (from Bank)
Image 34OTP Bank in Prešov (Slovakia) (from Bank)
Image 36Branch of the Standard Bank of Canada in Markham, Ontario, shown in 1912. (from Standard Bank of Canada)
Image 37Former branch in Oulu (from Bank of Finland)
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)
Image 39Branch of Nepal Bank in Pokhara, Western Nepal. (from Bank)
Image 40Large door to an old bank vault. (from Bank)
Image 41Former branch in Sortavala, now in Russia (from Bank of Finland)
Image 42National Copper Bank, Salt Lake City 1911 (from Bank)
Image 43Government Palace in Helsinki, the Bank's home from 1824 until relocation to its current building in 1883 (from Bank of Finland)
Image 44The 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)
Image 45Former branch in Tampere (from Bank of Finland)
Image 46Interior of the Helsinki Branch of the Vyborg-Bank in the 1910s (from Bank)
Image 47An HSBC Bank Canada branch in Richmond Hill, Ontario, 2014 (from HSBC Bank Canada)
- 29 May 2025 – Economy of South Korea
- South Korea’s central bank cuts its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.5%, marking its fourth cut since October, and sharply lowered its 2025 growth forecast to 0.8%, nearly halving the previous projection of 1.5% announced in February after a monetary policy meeting. Share prices rise following the report, with the Kospi gaining 1.7%. (AP)
- 29 May 2025 – Corruption in Slovakia
- Slovakia’s central bank chief, Peter Kažimír, a member of the European Central Bank committee, is convicted of bribery and fined 200,000 euros. The verdict was issued by Judge Milan Cisarik at the Special Criminal Court in Pezinok. (AP)
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