Commercial Lending

banking activity, mainly trading in financial and monetary instruments. Banks are traditionally distinguished from other financial institutions by their main functions: accepting deposits - subject to withdrawal or transfer by check - and granting loans.

Types of sofas

Banks are traditionally distinguished by their main functions. and other term deposits. Until recently, mutual savings banks only accepted savings deposits and other term deposits and offered limited types of loans and services. The fact that commercial banks have been able to develop or contract their loans and investments according to changes in reserves and reserve requirements still distinguishes them from mutual savings banks, in which the volume of loans and investments is higher. . was determined by the evolution of customer deposits. Affiliation to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is mandatory for all Federal Reserve banks, but optional for other banks.

Other financial institutions

Types of financial institutions that traditionally are not subject to the control of national or federal banking authorities, but which exercise one or more of the traditional banking functions are savings and credit associations, mortgage loan companies, corporations companies, credit institutions, in whole or in part, the federal government, credit unions, investment dealers and investment banks. Savings and credit associations, which are government institutions, offer their members home loans from funds from savings deposits and the sale of shares to their members. Finance companies provide small loans with funds from invested capital, surpluses and loans. Credit unions, which are co-operatives of groups of people with a common enterprise, fraternal interests, or others, provide small loans to their members with funds from the sale of shares to their members. The role of investment banks is primarily to advise governments and companies seeking to raise funds and intermediaries between these issuers of securities, on the one hand, and institutional and individual investors, on the other.

International banks

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) was organized (1945) to provide loans to governments and private investors. Debt cancellation between countries has been simplified and facilitated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which also provides technical assistance to members of international banks. The former European Monetary Agreement also allowed the rapid repayment of debts and balance of payments obligations between countries. The European Central Bank (see The European Monetary System) was created in 1998 to contribute to the formulation of the common monetary policy of the European Union countries with a common currency.

General History

The ancient temples of Egypt, Babylon and Greece, which deposited gold and silver at high interest rates, had a simple banking activity. The private bank already existed in 600 BC. and it was considerably developed by the Greeks, Romans and Byzantines. The medieval banking system was dominated by Jews and Levantines because of the restrictions of interest of the Christian Church and the fact that many other professions were largely closed to Jews. The predecessors of modern banks were often rented for specific purposes, such as the Banca di Venezia (1171) and the Banca d'Inghilterra (1694), as far as public loans are concerned; the Amsterdam Bank (1609), to receive deposits of gold and silver. The banking system developed rapidly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, along with the expansion of industry and commerce, with each country developing the distinctive forms inherent in its economic and social life.

History in the United States

First years at the Federal Reserve

In the United States, the first bank was the Bank of North America, founded in 1781 in Philadelphia. The Congress established the first American bank in 1791 to engage in general commercial banking and act as an agent.