Islamic banking,Islamic finance (Arabic:مصرفية إسلاميةmasrifiyya 'islamia), orSharia-compliant finance isbanking orfinancing activity that complies withSharia (Islamic law) and its practical application through the development ofIslamic economics. Some of the modes of Islamic finance includemudarabah (profit-sharing and loss-bearing),wadiah (safekeeping),musharaka (joint venture),murabahah (cost-plus), andijarah (leasing).

Sharia prohibitsriba, orusury, generally defined as interest paid on all loans of money (although some Muslims dispute whether there is a consensus that interest is equivalent toriba). Investment in businesses that provide goods or services considered contrary to Islamicprinciples (e.g. pork or alcohol) is alsoharam ("sinful and prohibited"). (Full article...)

Retail banking, also known asconsumer banking orpersonal banking, is the provision of services by abank to thegeneral public, rather than to companies, corporations or other banks, which are often described aswholesale banking (corporate banking).

Banking services which are regarded as retail include provision ofsavings andtransactional accounts,mortgages,personal loans,debit cards, andcredit cards. Retail banking is also distinguished frominvestment banking orcommercial banking. It may also refer to a division or department of a bank which deals with individual customers. (Full article...)

TheBank War was a political struggle that developed over the issue of rechartering theSecond Bank of the United States (B.U.S.) during thepresidency ofAndrew Jackson (1829–1837). This resulted in the shutdown of the Bank and its replacement by state banks.

The Second Bank of the United States was chartered for twenty years as a private institution with exclusive authority to operate on a national scale. While its stated purpose was to stabilize the American economy through a uniform currency and stronger federal presence, critics questioned whom it truly served. Supporters claimed that the Bank helped regulate prices, extend credit, provide a reliable currency, and offer essential services to the Treasury. However,Jacksonian Democrats and other opponents highlighted troubling examples of favoritism, alleging that the Bank catered to wealthy merchants and speculators while sidelining farmers, artisans, and small businesses. They pointed to the Bank's use of public funds for risky private ventures and its entanglement in political affairs as evidence of undue influence. For many, its blend of public authority and private profit wasunconstitutional and erodeddemocratic ideals andstate sovereignty. To its detractors, the Bank was a symbol of elite privilege and a potential threat to individual liberty. (Full article...)

Private banks are banks owned by either the individual or a generalpartner(s) with limited partner(s). Private banks are notincorporated. In any such case, creditors can look to both the "entirety of the bank's assets" as well as the entirety of the sole-proprietor's/general-partners' assets.

Private banks have a long tradition inSwitzerland, dating back to at least theRevocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685). Private banks also have a long tradition in the UK whereC. Hoare & Co. has been in business since 1672. (Full article...)

Acommunity development bank (CDB) orCommunity Development Financial Institution (CDFI) is adevelopment bank orcredit union that focus on serving people who have been locked out of the traditional financial systems such as theunbanked orunderbanked in deprived local communities. They emphasize the long term development of communities and provide loans such asmicro-finance or venture capital.

In the United States these became popular after 1994 when theUS Congress created community development banks and allowed them to get funding at very low rates from the US treasury. (Full article...)

AnATM card is a dedicatedpayment card issued by afinancial institution (i.e. abank) which enables a customer to access their financial accounts via its and others'automated teller machines (ATMs) and, in some countries, to make approved point of purchase retail transactions. Many ATM cards also doubled ascheque guarantee cards. ATM cards are notcredit cards ordebit cards, however most credit and debit cards can also act as ATM cards and that is the most common way that banks issue cards since the 2010s.

ATM cards are payment card size and styleplastic cards with amagnetic stripe and/or a plasticsmart card with achip that contains a unique card number and some security information such as an expiration date orCVVC (CVV). ATM cards are known by a variety of names such asbank card,MAC (money access card),client card,key card orcash card, among others. Other payment cards, such as debit cards and credit cards can also function as ATM cards. Charge and proprietary cards cannot be used as ATM cards. The use of a credit card to withdraw cash at an ATM is treated differently to apoint of sale transaction, usually attracting interest charges from the date of the cash withdrawal. (Full article...)

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

Cooperative banking, as discussed here, includes retail banking carried out bycredit unions,mutual savings banks,building societies andcooperatives, as well as commercial banking services provided bymutual organizations (such ascooperative federations) to cooperative businesses. (Full article...)

Acustodian bank, or simplycustodian, is a specializedfinancial institution responsible for providing securities services. It provides post-trade services and solutions for asset owners (e.g.sovereign wealth funds,central banks,insurance companies),asset managers,banks andbroker-dealers. It is not engaged in "traditional" commercial or consumer/retail banking like lending.

In the past, the custodian bank purely focused on custody, safekeeping, settlement, and administration of securities as well as asset servicing such as income collection and corporate actions. Yet, in the modern financial world, custodian banks have started providing a wider range of value-adding or cost-saving financial services, ranging fromfund administration totransfer agency, fromsecurities lending totrustee services. (Full article...)

TheFederal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is aUnited States government corporation supplyingdeposit insurance to depositors in Americancommercial banks andsavings banks. The FDIC was created by theBanking Act of 1933, enacted during theGreat Depression to restore trust in the American banking system. More than one-third of banks failed in the years before the FDIC's creation, andbank 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 theDodd–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 thegovernment 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-bankfintech 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...)

TheCAMELS rating is a supervisory rating system originally developed in the U.S. to classify a bank's overall condition. It is applied to every bank and credit union in the U.S. and is also implemented outside the U.S. by various banking supervisory regulators.

The ratings are assigned based on a ratio analysis of the financial statements, combined with on-site examinations made by a designated supervisory regulator. In the U.S. these supervisory regulators include theFederal Reserve, theOffice of the Comptroller of the Currency, theNational Credit Union Administration, theFarm Credit Administration, and theFederal Deposit Insurance Corporation. (Full article...)

UniCredit S.p.A. (formerlyUniCredito Italiano S.p.A.) is an Italian multinational banking group headquartered inMilan. It is asystemically important bank (according to the list provided by theFinancial Stability Board in 2022) and the world's 34th largest by assets. It was formed through the merger ofCredito Italiano andUnicredito in 1998 but has a corporate identity stretching back to its first foundation in 1870 asBanca di Genova. UniCredit is listed on theBorsa Italiana andFrankfurt Stock Exchange and is a constituent stock of theEuro Stoxx 50 index of leading shares.

Withcorporate &investment banking,commercial banking andwealth management operations, Unicredit is apan-European bank with a strong presence in Western, Central and Eastern Europe. Through its European banking network, it provides access to market-leading products and services in 13 core markets: Italy, Germany asHypoVereinsbank, Austria asBank Austria, Russia and nine other Central and Southeast European countries. (Full article...)

Crédit Agricole Group (French:[kʁediaɡʁikɔl]), sometimes calledLa banque verte (pronounced[labɑ̃kvɛʁt],lit. 'The green bank', due to its historical ties tofarming), is a French international banking group and the world's largestcooperative financial institution. It is the second largest bank in France, afterBNP Paribas, as well as the third largest in Europe and tenth largest in the world. It consists of a network of Crédit Agricole local banks, 39 Agricole regional banks and a central institute, theCrédit Agricole S.A.. It is listed through Crédit Agricole S.A., as an intermediateholding company, onEuronext Paris' first market and is part of theCAC 40 stock market index. Local banks of the group owned the regional banks, in turn the regional banks majority owned the S.A. via a holding company, and in turn the S.A. owned part of the subsidiaries of the group, such as LCL, the Italian network and the CIB unit. It is considered to be asystemically important bank by theFinancial Stability Board.

It was the title sponsor of theCrédit Agricole professional road cycling team from 1998 to 2008. (Full article...)

Banco Santander S.A.,trading asSantander Group (UK:/ˌsæntənˈdɛər,-tæn-/SAN-tən-DAIR, -⁠tan-,US:/ˌsɑːntɑːnˈdɛər/SAHN-tahn-DAIR,Spanish:[ˈbaŋkosantanˈdeɾ]), is a Spanish multinationalfinancial services company based inSantander, with operative offices inBoadilla del Monte. Additionally, Santander maintains a presence in mostglobal financial centres as the16th-largest banking institution in the world. Although known for its European banking operations, it has extended operations acrossNorth America andSouth America, and more recently incontinental Asia. It is considered asystemically important bank by theFinancial Stability Board.

Many subsidiaries, such asAbbey National, have been rebranded under the Santander name. The company is a component of theEuro Stoxx 50stock market index. In June 2023, Santander was ranked as 49th in theForbes Global 2000 list of the world's biggest public companies. (Full article...)

TheAgricultural Bank of China (ABC), also known asAgBank, is a Chinese largely state-ownedmultinational banking andfinancial services corporation headquartered inBeijing, China. It is one of the "big four" banks in China, and the second largest bank in the world by total assets, behind theIndustrial and Commercial Bank of China. ABC was founded on 10 July 1951, and has its headquarters inDongcheng District,Beijing. It has branches throughoutmainland China,Hong Kong,London,Tokyo,New York,Frankfurt,Sydney,Seoul, andSingapore.

ABC has 320 million retail customers,2.7 million corporate clients, and nearly 24,000 branches. It is China's third-largest lender by assets. ABC went public in mid-2010, fetching the world's biggest everinitial public offering (IPO) at the time, since overtaken by theSaudi Arabianstate-runpetroleum enterprise,Saudi Aramco. In 2011, it ranked eighth among the Top 1000 World Banks, by 2015, it ranked third in Forbes' 13th annual Global 2000 list and in 2017 it ranked fifth. In 2023, Agricultural Bank of China was ranked No. 4 in Forbes' Global 2000 (World's Largest Public Companies). It is considered asystemically important bank by theFinancial Stability Board. (Full article...)

Citigroup Inc. orCiti (stylized asciti) is an American multinationalinvestment bank andfinancial services company based inNew York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, thebank holding company forCitibank, andTravelers; Travelers was spun off from the company in 2002.

Citigroup is thethird-largest banking institution in the United States by assets; alongsideJPMorgan Chase,Bank of America, andWells Fargo, it is one of theBig Four banking institutions of the United States. It is considered asystemically important bank by theFinancial Stability Board and is commonly called "too big to fail". It is one of the eight global investment banks in theBulge Bracket. Citigroup is ranked 36th on theFortune 500, and was ranked #24 inForbes Global 2000 in 2023. (Full article...)

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a Britishfinancial institution formed through the acquisition ofHBOS byLloyds TSB in 2009. It is one of the UK's largest financial services organisations, with 30 million customers and 65,000 employees.Lloyds Bank was founded in 1765 but the wider Group's heritage extends over 320 years, dating back to the founding of theBank of Scotland by theParliament of Scotland in 1695.

The Group's headquarters are located at 33 Old Broad Street in theCity of London, while its registered office is onThe Mound inEdinburgh. It also operates office sites inBirmingham,Bristol,West Yorkshire andGlasgow. The Group also has overseas operations in the US and Europe. Its headquarters for business in theEuropean Union is inBerlin,Germany. (Full article...)

The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. was an Americaninvestment bank,securities trading, andbrokerage firm that famously failed during the2008 financial crisis and theGreat Recession. After its closure, it was subsequently sold toJPMorgan Chase. The company's main business areas before its failure werecapital markets, investment banking,wealth management, and globalclearing services, and it was heavily involved in thesubprime mortgage crisis.

In the years leading up to the failure, Bear Stearns was heavily involved insecuritization and issued large amounts ofasset-backed securities which were, in the case of mortgages, pioneered byLewis Ranieri, "the father of mortgage securities." As investor losses mounted in those markets in 2006 and 2007, the company actually increased its exposure, especially to the mortgage-backed assets that were central to thesubprime mortgage crisis. In March 2008, theFederal Reserve Bank of New York provided an emergency loan to try to avert a sudden collapse of the company. The company could not be saved, however, and was sold to JPMorgan Chase for $10 per share, a price far below its pre-crisis 52-week high of $133.20 per share, but not as low as the $2 per share originally agreed upon. (Full article...)

TheLaurentian Bank of Canada (LBC; French:Banque Laurentienne du Canada) is aSchedule 1 bank that operates primarily in the province ofQuebec, with commercial and business banking offices located in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia. LBC's Institution Number (orrouting number) is 039.

The institution was established as theMontreal City and District Savings Bank in 1846. The bank's shares were publicly listed on theMontreal Stock Exchange in 1965 and theToronto Stock Exchange in 1983. In 1987, the institution was renamed theLaurentian Bank of Canada. (Full article...)

Postal Savings Bank of China Co., Ltd. also known asPSBC is a Chineseretail bank andfinancial services corporation headquartered in Beijing, China. PSBC provides basicfinancial services, especially tosmall and medium enterprises,rural andlow income customers. As of 31 December 2017, PSBC has 39,798 branches covering allregions of China. PSBC was ranked #27 inForbes Global 2000 in 2023.

PSBC was set up with an initial capital ofRMB20 billion in 2007 from theState Post Bureau. Today it has RMB1.5 trillion in deposits and the second largest number of branches, after theAgricultural Bank of China. (Full article...)

TheBank of America Corporation (Bank of America; often abbreviatedBAC orBofA) is an American multinationalinvestment bank andfinancial servicesholding company headquartered at theBank of America Corporate Center inCharlotte, North Carolina, withinvestment banking and auxiliary headquarters inManhattan. The bank was founded by the merger ofNationsBank andBank of America in 1998. It is thesecond-largest banking institution in the United States and the second-largest bank in the world bymarket capitalization, both afterJPMorgan Chase. Bank of America is one of theBig Four banking institutions of the United States. and one of eightsystemically important financial institutions in the United States. It serves about 10 percent of all American bank deposits, in direct competition with JPMorgan Chase,Citigroup, andWells Fargo. Its primary financial services revolve aroundcommercial banking,wealth management, and investment banking.
Through mergers, the oldest branch of the Bank of America franchise dates back to 1784, whenMassachusetts Bank was chartered, becoming the first federally chartered joint-stock-owned bank in the United States. Another branch of its history goes back to the American-basedBank of Italy, founded byAmadeo Pietro Giannini in 1904, which provided various banking services toItalian immigrants whofaced service discrimination at the time. Headquartered inSan Francisco, California, Giannini acquiredBanca d'America e d'Italia in 1922 and eventually did business as Bank of America.

In the 1950s, the passage of landmark federal banking legislation facilitated rapid growth, quickly establishing prominent shares for the present bank's predecessors. After suffering significant losses during the1998 Russian financial crisis, BankAmerica, as it was then known, was acquired by the Charlotte-basedNationsBank for $62 billion. Following what was then thelargest bank acquisition in history, the Bank of America Corporation was founded. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, it built upon its commercial banking business by establishingMerrill Lynch for wealth management andBank of America Merrill Lynch for investment banking in 2008 and 2009, respectively, and since renamed BofA Securities. (Full article...)