Banks and Banking

A bank is a financial intermediary that accepts deposits and channels those deposits into lending activities, either directly by loaning or indirectly through capital markets.

A bank links together customers that have capital deficits and customers with capital surpluses.

Due to their importance in the financial system and influence on national economies, banks are highly regulated in most countries. Most nations have institutionalised 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, known as the Basel Accords.

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