Noun

Singular bank

Plural banks

bank (plural banks)

1. An institution where one can place and borrow money and take care of financial affairs.
2. A branch office of such an institution
3. An underwriter or controller of a card game, also banque.
4. A safe and guaranteed place of storage for and retrieval of important items or goods.

   blood bank

   sperm bank

   data bank

5. An edge of a river or lake
6. A slope of earth etc.; an embankment

Derived terms

• bankability
• bankable
• bank account
• bank agent
• bank balance
• bank bill
• bank book
• bank card
• bank charges
• bank cheque
• bank clerk
• bank draft
• banker
• bank giro

• bank holiday
• banking
• bank interest
• bank loan
• bank manager
• banknote
• bank of deposit
• bank of issue
• bank paper
• bank rate
• bank reserves
• bankroll
• bank statement
• bank stock

• blood bank
• bottle bank
• break the bank
• central bank
• clearing bank
• cry all the way to the bank
• databank
• investment bank
• Jodrell Bank
• joint-stock bank
• laugh all the way to the bank
• memory bank
• merchant bank
• national bank

• peat bank
• penny bank
• piggy bank
• pot bank
• private bank
• reserve bank
• savings bank
• sperm bank
• spoil bank
• state bank
• stopbank
• take it to the bank
• trustee savings bank
• World Bank

Related terms

• bankrupt

A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits and channels those deposits into lending activities. Banks primarily provide financial services to customers while enriching investors. Government restrictions on financial activities by banks vary over time and location. Banks are important players in financial markets and offer services such as investment funds and loans. In some countries such as Germany, banks have historically owned major stakes in industrial corporations while in other countries such as the United States banks are prohibited from owning non-financial companies. In Japan, banks are usually the nexus of a cross-share holding entity known as the keiretsu. In France, bancassurance is prevalent, as most banks offer insurance services (and now real estate services) to their clients.

The level of government regulation of the banking industry varies widely, with countries such as Iceland, having relatively light regulation of the banking sector, and countries such as China having a wide variety of regulations but no systematic process that can be followed typical of a communist system.

The oldest bank still in existence is Monte dei Paschi di Siena, headquartered in Siena, Italy, which has been operating continuously since 1472.