Business & Society

Hong Kong continues as a major banking center in the world, with one of the largest representations of international banks in the world. Hong Kong remains among the top ten bank centers in terms...

The U.S. Congress created the Federal Reserve Bank (the Fed) in order to regulate the money supply. The Fed accomplishes this goal by setting interest rates for member banks and selling government...

Monetary policy consists of the methods by which governments regulate their nations' banking systems and the money supply. The framework in which monetary policy exists consists of policy...

Commercial banks are also called business or consumer banks. These banks provide services to the public that consist of checking, savings and money market accounts, and other traditional banking...

Merchant banking is the direct, negotiated investment of private money into privately or publicly held companies by financial institutions or professional investors. The investors make private...

Each bank sets a base lending rate that is referred to as its prime rate. It is based on fluctuations in the federal funds rate, because most banks manage their cash positions by borrowing and...

Bank-owned property refers to property that has gone through the foreclosure process and title to that property has been transferred to the bank that lent the money for the original purchase....

Commercial banks, the name given to normal banks to differentiate them from investment banks, have a significant role in the economy, although the strict definition of a commercial bank has...

Before the Gramm-Leach-Billey Act (Financial Services Modernization Act) of 1999, the merger of investment banks and commercial banks (the name given to normal banks to differentiate them from...

International banking is the process in which financial institutions allow foreign clients---both companies and individuals---to use their services. Perhaps the most talked-about international...

Despite criticism of offshore banks for a variety of reasons, sound arguments can be made to support the opinion that offshore banks are advantageous in certain situations and for certain people....

Offshore banks are banks located in a tax haven outside the country and are used by domestics to avoid taxation as well as to obtain other legal and financial advantages. However, there are...

Commercial banks have been a main function of economic markets for hundreds of years. While certain functions have changed to meet the needs of consumers and businesses, overall the main services...

A merchant bank in the United States is an investment bank that handles financing for corporations (and select wealthy individuals). These banks commit their own funds to act as a creditor for, or...

The term "bank" is applied to a variety of financial intermediaries. The financial intermediary matches suppliers of capital to invest against those who are in need of capital financing. The...

The Glass-Steagall Act, also referred to as the Banking Act of 1933, placed a number of restrictions on banks, most of which were repealed through the process of deregulation. To fully understand...

ACH stands for Automatic Clearing House. This is a secure network introduced in the 1970s that banks use to transfer funds to and from each other for everything from direct deposit to debit cards....

In a span of forty years in international trade and business development, I had to learn about the services offered by banks and financial institutions, to ensure that they met with my needs....

The foreign exchange market plays a crucial role in global trade. Institutions such as banks can buy and sell currencies like the euro or the yuan. As a result, international trading and...

The Foreign Exchange Market is the best way to trade currency around the world. Known by the nickname Forex, more than 100 types of currency are traded each day and more than $3 trillion is...

Creating a food bank involves strategies and creating partnerships throughout the community to ensure that people are fed. A detailed strategy with an understanding of network affiliations is the...

When money is tight, interest rates on commercial loans, mortgages, credit cards, etc. go up. These hikes are engineered by a central bank, such as the Federal Reserve in the U.S. or the Bank of...

Ancient Indian writings mention banking practiced by Vaishya, the merchants and landowners, who are ranked third of four among the castes. By the time of Buddha, circa 500 BCE, even top-ranked...

Commercial banks are extremely important in industry, by providing the loanable funds that these industries need to expand and develop. Banks are also involved with industry in other ways, like...

The Federal Open Market Committee, the panel in charge of monetary policy in the United States, operates with broad discretion. This has led to concerns that the committee, a part of the Federal...

Central banks, such as the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England or the Federal Reserve in the United States, are responsible for setting monetary policy for their respective nations. Monetary...

Monetary policy refers to the range of policy actions and instruments by which governments, through central banks, try to affect a nation's money supply, its interest rates or both. Through...

Gold more than any other metal has withstood the test of time as it still holds high value and today has become a very popular investment. Gold just like any other investment can prove to be very...

Commercial banks seem like an economic curse during a financial crisis, although during an economic boom they seem too good to be true. By accepting deposits and then loaning out money, banks are...

There are two primary rules involving federal deposits and law. First, deposits in banks that are recognized as deposits by the federal government are mandated to have a certain percentage of...

During times of economic woe in America, there remain a few sectors that actually make money while the majority of people scramble to save theirs. These sectors range from big government to...

Economists have debated the effectiveness of monetary policy--the actions taken by central banks to stem inflation and foster sustainable levels of employment and production--since the time of the...

A company's main motivation for going public is to raise funds. Aside from altering the makeup of the company by cutting costs or increasing profits, there are two ways a company can bring in...

Business runs on credit. Mortgages, auto loans and credit cards make the "good life" we otherwise could not afford possible. Banks borrow too on a daily basis from each other or their central...

Mention the term "commercial bank" and the likes of Chase, Citicorp and Bank of America immediately come to mind. You may have a checking account, a mortgage, a credit card or an investment...

The Federal Reserve System, established in 1913, is composed of the Board of Governors, regional Federal Reserve Banks, the Federal Open Market Committee, member banks and various advisory...

There are two main ways that the government can attempt to influence the economy. One is called fiscal policy. This is when the government changes tax laws and government spending to try to shift...

Electronic banking, or e-banking, is the term that describes all transactions that take place among companies, organizations, and individuals and their banking institutions. First conceptualized...

Mortgage companies can vary in type quite drastically, from subsidiaries of larger banks to self-sustaining small businesses. Similarly, the employees at mortgage companies are often considered...

There are some key points to remember when interviewing at a bank that will help leave a positive impression. Although many banking jobs don't require high-level college degrees, banks want...

Farmers have always needed a reliable source of credit, and in 1732 the first cooperative credit system was formed in New London, Connecticut. Government help, however---especially long-term...

In the United States, the interest rates for monies lent depend on a number of factors. Everything from income, credit history, where one seeks to borrow from and even the purpose for borrowing...

Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act, which was signed into law by President Wilson in December of 1913, after a series of devastating financial crises. Along with succeeding acts such as the...

The term "bank rate" refers to the interest rate a nation's central bank charges on loans to commercial banks. The bank rate is often used by central banks to influence the rates that commercial...

What started as one of the largest corporate providers of energy and commerce at the beginnings of the twenty-first century, had become the largest corporation to collapse within a year. The...

One of the ways commercial banks make money is by charging fees and penalties. For example, you may pay a monthly fee if you have a savings or checking account, an annual fee if you have a credit...

When a Swiss bank account is mentioned in a movie or novel, it is generally associated with very wealthy, covert spy operations or international criminals. In truth, you don't need billions of...

A bank holding company is a financial corporation that owns majority shares in one or multiple banks. Some of the top bank holding companies in the United States include JP Morgan Chase & Co.,...

Banks offer a variety of deposit accounts ranging from regular checking to money market accounts. A NOW account is a type of deposit account that has features similar to a money market account....

When you make a SWIFT payment, you are using a highly-specialized and secure messaging service to an institution, either in the US or overseas. It is an acronym for Society for Worldwide Interbank...