Portal:Banks

The Banks and Banking Portal

The Bank of England, established in 1694

A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.

Banks play an important role in financial stability and the economy of a country, so most countries 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...)

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Selected banking articles

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Wall Street during the bank panic in October 1907. Federal Hall National Memorial, with its statue of George Washington, is seen on the right.

The 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...)
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The 2010 United States foreclosure crisis, sometimes referred to as Foreclosure-gate or Foreclosuregate, refers to a widespread epidemic of improper foreclosures initiated by large banks and other lenders. The foreclosure crisis was extensively covered by news outlets beginning in October 2010, and several large banks—including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup—responded by halting their foreclosure proceedings temporarily in some or all states. The foreclosure crisis caused significant investor fear in the U.S. A 2014 study published in the American Journal of Public Health linked the foreclosure crisis to an increase in suicide rates.

One out of every 248 households in the United States received a foreclosure notice in September 2012, according to RealtyTrac. (Full article...)
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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a United States government corporation supplying deposit insurance to depositors in American commercial banks and savings banks. The FDIC was created by the Banking Act of 1933, enacted during the Great Depression to restore trust in the American banking system. More than one-third of banks failed in the years before the FDIC's creation, and bank runs were common. The insurance limit was initially US$2,500 per ownership category, and this has been increased several times over the years. Since the enactment of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010, the FDIC insures deposits in member banks up to $250,000 per ownership category. FDIC insurance is backed by the full faith and credit of the government of the United States, and according to the FDIC, "since its start in 1933 no depositor has ever lost a penny of FDIC-insured funds".

Deposits placed with non-bank fintech (financial technology) companies are not protected by the FDIC against failure of the fintech company. If the company places the money in an FDIC-insured bank account consumers are protected only under some conditions. (Full article...)
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The 100 point check is a personal identification system adopted by the Australian Government to combat financial transaction fraud by individuals and companies, enacted by the Financial Transactions Reports Act (1988) (FTR Act), which established the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and which continued in existence under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006.

The 100 point system applies to individuals opening new financial accounts in Australia, including bank accounts or betting accounts. Points are allocated to the types of documentary proof of identity that the person can produce, and they must have at least 100 points of identification to be able to operate an account. The system now also applies to the establishment of a number of official identity documents, such as an Australian passport and driving licence. (Full article...)
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A statue of cooperative pioneer Robert Owen stands in front of the Manchester head office of the UK's Co-operative Bank.

Cooperative banking is retail and commercial banking organized on a cooperative basis. Cooperative banking institutions take deposits and lend money in most parts of the world.

Cooperative banking, as discussed here, includes retail banking carried out by credit unions, mutual savings banks, building societies and cooperatives, as well as commercial banking services provided by mutual organizations (such as cooperative federations) to cooperative businesses. (Full article...)
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Asset quality is an evaluation of asset to measure the credit risk associated with it. (Full article...)
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A direct bank (sometimes called a branch-less bank or virtual bank) is a bank that offers its services only via the Internet, mobile app, email, and other electronic means, often including telephone, online chat, and mobile check deposit. A direct bank has no branch network. It may offer access to an independent banking agent network and may also provide access via ATMs (often through interbank network alliances), and bank by mail. Direct banks eliminate the costs of maintaining a branch network while offering convenience to customers who prefer digital technology. Direct banks provide some but not all of the services offered by physical banks.

Direct bank transactions are conducted entirely online. Direct banks are not the same as "online banking". Online banking is an Internet-based option offered by regular banks. (Full article...)
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Giro or GIRO may refer to: (Full article...)
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A bank holding company is a company that controls one or more banks, but does not necessarily engage in banking itself. The compound bancorp (banc/bank + corp[oration]) or bancorporation is often used to refer to such companies as well, particularly in the United States. (Full article...)
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A deposit account is a bank account maintained by a financial institution in which a customer can deposit and withdraw money. Deposit accounts can be savings accounts, current accounts or any of several other types of accounts explained below.

Transactions on deposit accounts are recorded in a bank's books, and the resulting balance is recorded as a liability of the bank and represents an amount owed by the bank to the customer. In other words, the banker-customer (depositor) relationship is one of debtor-creditor. Some banks charge fees for transactions on a customer's account. Additionally, some banks pay customers interest on their account balances. (Full article...)

Selected banks

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Credit Suisse Group AG (French pronunciation: [kʁe.di sɥis], lit. 'Swiss Credit') was a Swiss investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, it had 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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HSBC Holdings plc (Chinese: 滙豐; lit. 'focus of wealth') is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business links to East Asia and a multinational footprint. According to S&P Global's April 2026 report, HSBC is Europe's 2nd largest bank by assets, with $3.212 trillion in assets. This also puts it as the 8th largest bank in the world by total assets behind Bank of America, and the 3rd largest non-state owned bank in the world.

HSBC traces its origins to a hong trading house in British Hong Kong. The bank was established in 1865 in Hong Kong and opened branches in Shanghai in the same year. It was formally incorporated in 1866 as the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. In 1991, the current parent company, HSBC Holdings plc, was established in London and the historic Hong Kong–based bank from which the group took its name became that entity's wholly owned subsidiary. The following year (1992), HSBC took over Midland Bank, becoming one of the largest domestic banks in the United Kingdom. (Full article...)
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Caixa 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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NatWest Group Registered Office in October 2007

NatWest Group plc is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It operates a variety of banking brands offering personal and business banking, private banking, investment banking, insurance and corporate finance. In the UK, its main subsidiary companies are National Westminster Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest Markets, Coutts and Evelyn Partners. NatWest Group issues banknotes in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Before the 2008 financial crisis, NatWest Group was briefly the largest bank in the world, and for a period was the second-largest bank in the UK and Europe and the fifth-largest in the world by market capitalisation. With a slumping share price and major loss of confidence, it fell sharply in the rankings, although in 2009 it was briefly the world's largest company by both assets (£1.9 trillion) and liabilities (£1.8 trillion). (Full article...)
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The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Russian: Центральный банк Российской Федерации), commonly known as the Bank of Russia (Russian: Банк России) or CB (Russian: ЦБ), also called the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), is the central bank of the Russian Federation. The bank was established on 13 July 1990. It traces its beginnings to the State Bank of the Russian Empire established in 1860.

The bank is headquartered on Neglinnaya Street in Moscow. Its functions are described in the Constitution of Russia (Article 75), as well as in federal law. (Full article...)
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Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG; 株式会社三菱UFJフィナンシャル・グループ, Kabushiki gaisha Mitsubishi Yūefujei Finansharu Gurūpu) is a Japanese bank holding and financial services company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. MUFG was created in 2005 by merger between Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group (株式会社三菱東京フィナンシャル・グループ, Kabushiki kaisha mitsubishi tōkyō finansharu gurūpu) and UFJ Holdings (株式会社UFJホールディングス; kabushikigaisha yūefujei hōrudingusu). These two groups in turn brought together multiple predecessor banks including Mitsubishi Bank (est. 1880), Yokohama Specie Bank (est. 1880 as a policy bank, reorganized after World War II as Bank of Tokyo), Sanwa Bank (est. 1933 by merger of prior institutions), and Tokai Bank (est. 1941 by merger).

MUFG holds assets of around US$2.7 trillion as of 2024 and is the parent company of fully owned MUFG Bank (branded Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ or BTMU until July 2018), Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, and MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation; majority shareholder of Bank Danamon in Indonesia, Bank of Ayudhya in Thailand, and Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS in Japan; and a large minority shareholder in the Master Trust Bank of Japan, Morgan Stanley in the United States, Security Bank in the Philippines, and Vietinbank in Vietnam. It retains strong links with the Mitsubishi Group and is often described as one of that group's "Three Great Houses", together with Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. (Full article...)
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Bank of Communications (BOCOM or BankComm) is a Chinese multinational banking and financial services corporation. It was originally established in 1908 and was one of a handful of domestic Chinese banks that issued banknotes in modern history. Following the Chinese Communist Revolution in 1949, the mainland operation of that bank were merged into the People's Bank of China and People's Construction Bank of China under the Communist single-tier banking system, while its continuation in Taiwan eventually became part of Mega International Commercial Bank.

In 1986, the Bank of Communications was revived in the mainland as a commercial credit institution. It was listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in June 2005 and the Shanghai Stock Exchange in May 2007. The Bank was ranked No. 151 among the Fortune Global 500 in terms of operating income and No. 11 among the global top 1,000 banks in terms of Tier 1 capital rated by the London-based magazine The Banker. In 2023, the company was ranked 53rd in the Forbes Global 2000. (Full article...)
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Deutsche Bank Twin Towers in Frankfurt, Germany

Deutsche Bank AG (German pronunciation: [ˈdɔʏtʃə ˈbaŋk ʔaːˈɡeː] , lit. 'German Bank') is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt. It is dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

Deutsche Bank was founded in 1870 in Berlin. From 1929 to 1937, following its merger with Disconto-Gesellschaft, it was known as Deutsche Bank und Disconto-Gesellschaft or DeDi-Bank. Other transformative acquisitions have included those of Mendelssohn & Co. in 1938, Morgan Grenfell in 1990, Bankers Trust in 1998, and Deutsche Postbank in 2010. (Full article...)
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BNP Paribas (French pronunciation: [beɛnpe paʁiba]; sometimes referred to as BNPP, Paribas or BNP) is a French multinational universal bank and financial services holding company headquartered in Paris. It was founded in 2000 from the merger of two of France's foremost financial institutions, Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) and Paribas. It also incorporates many other major institutions through successive acquisitions, including Fortis Bank in Belgium, Direkt Anlage Bank in Germany, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro in Italy, Banque Générale du Luxembourg in Luxembourg, and Türk Ekonomi Bankası in Turkey. The group also had a presence in the United States through its subsidiaries Bank of the West until 2023 and First Hawaiian Bank until 2019. With 190,000 employees, the bank is organized into three major business areas: Commercial, Personal Banking & Services (CPBS); Investment & Protection Services (IPS); and Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB).

BNP Paribas is listed on Euronext Paris and is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index. It is the second largest bank in Europe and eighth largest bank in the world by total assets. It became one of the five largest banks in the world following the 2008 financial crisis. It is considered a systemically important bank by the Financial Stability Board. In the Forbes Global 2000, BNP Paribas was ranked as the 33rd largest public company in the world. 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...)
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Shinhan Bank Co., Ltd. (Korean: 신한은행) is a South Korean bank headquartered in Seoul. It was founded under this name in 1982, but through its merger with Chohung Bank in 2006, traces its origins to the Hanseong Bank (est. 1897), one of the first banks to be established in Korea. It is part of the Shinhan Financial Group, along with Jeju Bank.
As of 2016^[update], Shinhan Bank had total assets of ₩298.945 trillion (equivalent to ₩363.933 trillion or US$255.97 billion in 2025)^[1], total deposits of ₩221.047 trillion (equivalent to ₩269.101 trillion or US$189.27 billion in 2025)^[1] and loans of ₩212.228 trillion (equivalent to ₩258.365 trillion or US$181.719 billion in 2025)^[1]. Shinhan Bank is the main subsidiary of Shinhan Financial Group (SFG). (Full article...)

Did you know...

... that Shaktikanta Das qualified with a degree in history, yet rose to lead India's central bank?

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Selected images

Image 1ATM Al-Rajhi Bank (from Bank)
Image 2An HSBC Bank Canada branch in Richmond Hill, Ontario, 2014 (from HSBC Bank Canada)
Image 3SEB main building in Tallinn, Estonia (from Bank)
Image 4Branch of Nepal Bank in Pokhara, Western Nepal. (from Bank)
Image 5OTP Bank in Prešov (Slovakia) (from Bank)
Image 6Helsinki head office extension designed by Harry W. Schreck [fi] in the late 1950s (from Bank of Finland)
Image 7Large door to an old bank vault. (from Bank)
Image 8Global headquarters of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel (from Bank)
Image 9The 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 10This 15th-century painting depicts money-dealers at a banca (bench) during the Cleansing of the Temple. (from Bank)
Image 11An interior of a branch of National Westminster Bank on Castle Street, Liverpool (from Bank)
Image 12Sealing of the Bank of England Charter (1694), by Lady Jane Lindsay, 1905. (from Bank)
Image 13Government Palace in Helsinki, the Bank's home from 1824 until relocation to its current building in 1883 (from Bank of Finland)
Image 14An office of Nordea bank in Mariehamn, Åland (from Bank)
Image 15Former branch in Oulu (from Bank of Finland)
Image 16From 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 17Citibank, The People's Trust Company Building, Brooklyn, New York City. (from Bank)
Image 18An illustration of Northern National Bank as advertized in a 1921 book highlighting the opportunities available in Toledo, Ohio (from Bank)
Image 19The bank's 1890 head office at 23 King Street West, 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 20A former building society, now a modern retail bank in Leeds, West Yorkshire. (from Bank)
Image 21Former branch in Viipuri, now Vyborg, Russia (from Bank of Finland)
Image 22Amsterdam head office before 1987, lately headquarters of Booking.com (from AMRO Bank)
Image 23Beethovenstraat branch in Amsterdam, 1970 (from AMRO Bank)
Image 24Commerce 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 25The HSBC Canada Building in Vancouver housed the headquarters for HSBC's Canadian subsidiary (from HSBC Bank Canada)
Image 26Brechin (from Standard Bank of Canada)
Image 27Bank of Finland strong box which moved to Helsinki with the bank when it relocated from Turku (from Bank of Finland)
Image 28A Banco do Brasil office in São Paulo, Brazil, the bank is the largest financial institution in Brazil and Latin America. (from Bank)
Image 29Statesman 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 30The 1909 Standard Bank Building at 15 King Street West in Toronto, designed by Darling and Pearson. It was demolished in 1965. (from Standard Bank of Canada)
Image 31Sudbury (from Standard Bank of Canada)
Image 32Former branch in Kotka (from Bank of Finland)
Image 33Markham (from Standard Bank of Canada)
Image 34Former branch in Sortavala, now in Russia (from Bank of Finland)
Image 35Interior of the Helsinki Branch of the Vyborg-Bank [fi] in the 1910s (from Bank)
Image 36National Bank of the Republic, Salt Lake City 1908 (from Bank)
Image 37Sederholm House in Helsinki, the Bank's seat from 1819 to 1824 (from Bank of Finland)
Image 38Rotterdam head office [nl], later repurposed as a shopping center (from AMRO Bank)
Image 39Former branch [fi] in Tampere (from Bank of Finland)
Image 40Banco de Venezuela in Coro. (from Bank)
Image 41Suburban bank branch (from Bank)
Image 42An HSBC Bank Canada branch in Toronto, 2008 (from HSBC Bank Canada)
Image 43National Copper Bank, Salt Lake City 1911 (from Bank)
Image 44Former branch in Turku (from Bank of Finland)
Image 45An American bank in Maryland. (from Bank)