bank
bankA financial institution whose main activities are borrowing and lending money. Banks borrow by accepting deposits from the general public or other financial institutions. Bank loans are an important source of finance for firms, consumers and government. Commercial banks may be all-purpose, or may specialize. Investment banks specialize on loans to firms; merchant banks on financing capital market transactions and international trade; and savings banks on collecting and lending the savings of numerous, mostly small-scale, savers.
Bank accounts are held by individuals and firms to conduct their transactions, either by providing cash when it is needed or by transferring balances to other people as ordered by cheques, direct debits or electronic transfers. If banks become unable to provide their customers with their money when it is needed, this causes great loss...
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