An offshore bank is a bank that is operated and regulated under international banking license (often called offshore license), which usually prohibits the bank from establishing any business activities in the jurisdiction of establishment. Due to less regulation and transparency, accounts with offshore banks were often used to hide undeclared income. Since the 1980s, jurisdictions that provide financial services to nonresidents on a big scale can be referred to as offshore financial centres. OFCs often also levy little or no corporation tax and/or personal income but impose high direct taxes such as duty, making the cost of living high.
A bank holding company is a company that controls one or more banks, but does not necessarily engage in banking itself. The compoundbancorp (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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In American finance, the FDIC problem bank list is a confidential list created and maintained by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation which lists banks that are in jeopardy of failing. The list is closely monitored, and if problems continue with a listed bank, the FDIC takes control of the bank; it may then sell the problem bank to a stronger one, or liquidate the bank and pay off the depositors. (Full article...)
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World map showing real GDP growth rates for 2009; countries in brown were in a recession.
The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world (particularly in the western world and associated countries) that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009, overlapping with the closely related 2008 financial crisis. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At the time, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded that it was the most severe economic and financial meltdown since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The Great Recession was caused by many weaknesses that slowly developed in the global financial system, along with a series of triggering events that began with the bursting of the United States housing bubble in 2005–2012. When housing prices fell and homeowners began to abandon their mortgages, the value of mortgage-backed securities held by investment banks declined in 2007–2008, causing several banks to collapse or be bailed out in September 2008. This 2007–2008 phase became known as the subprime mortgage crisis. (Full article...)
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A savings bank is a financial institution that is not run on a profit-maximizing basis, and whose original or primary purpose is collecting deposits on savings accounts that are invested on a low-risk basis and receive interest. Savings banks have mostly existed as a separate category in Europe.
Savings banks originated in late-18th century Europe as a development of the Enlightenment, and became a Europe-wide phenomenon in the first half of the 19th century. The trajectories of savings bank systems then diverged across European nations, variously leading to the formation of integrated banking groups, cohesive national networks, conversion into cooperative banking or commercial banking entities, and/or piecemeal consolidation with other credit institutions. In most countries, the surviving savings banks have private-sector status and no longer operate under a distinctive legislative framework; significant exceptions include Germany and Luxembourg, where savings banks are public-sector entities. (Full article...)
Loan document issued by the Bank of Petrevene, Bulgaria, dated 1936 In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money.
The document evidencing the debt (e.g., a promissory note) will normally specify, among other things, the principal amount of money borrowed, the interest rate the lender is charging, and the date of repayment. A loan entails the reallocation of the subject asset(s) for a period of time, between the lender and the borrower. (Full article...)
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UML class diagram depicting retail banking Retail banking, also known as consumer banking or personal banking, is the provision of services by a bank to the general public, rather than to companies, corporations or other banks, which are often described as wholesale banking (corporate banking).
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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UML class diagram depicting a bank account A bank card is typically a plastic card issued by a bank to its clients that performs one or more of a number of services that relate to giving the client access to a bank account.
Physically, a bank card will usually have the client's name, the issuer's name, and a unique card number printed on it. It will have a magnetic strip on the back enabling various machines to read and access information. Depending on the issuing bank and the preferences of the client, this may allow the card to be used as an ATM card, enabling transactions at automated teller machines; or as a debit card, linked to the client's bank account and able to be used for making purchases at the point of sale with a bank card using a payment terminal. Later, in 2010s, smart card technology was adopted for bank card. (Full article...)
JPMorgan Chase is located at 270 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. It was created in 2000 by the merger of New York City banks J.P. Morgan & Co. and Chase Manhattan Company. Through its predecessors, the firm's early history can be traced to 1799, with the founding of what became the Bank of the Manhattan Company. J.P. Morgan & Co. was founded in 1871 by the American financier J. P. Morgan, who launched the House of Morgan on 23 Wall Street as a national purveyor of commercial, investment, and private banking services. Today, the firm is a major provider of investment banking services, through corporate advisory, mergers and acquisitions, sales and trading, and public offerings. Its private banking franchise and asset management division are among the world's largest in terms of total assets. Its retail banking and credit card offerings are provided via the Chase brand worldwide. (Full article...)
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...)
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...)
Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retail banking in the UK, and around 90% of its profits come from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. (Full article...)
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Münzhof, the company's headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland
UBS Group AG (stylized simply as UBS) is a Swiss multinational investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland, with headquarters in both Zurich and Basel. It holds a strong foothold in all major financial centres as the largest Swiss banking institution and the world's largest private bank. UBS manages the largest amount of private wealth in the world, counting approximately half of The World's Billionaires among its clients, with over US$7 trillion in assets as of December 2025 (AUM).' Based on international deal flow and political influence, the firm is considered one of the "biggest, most powerful financial institutions in the world". UBS is also a leading market maker and one of the eight global 'bulge bracket' investment banks. Due to its large presence across the Americas, EMEA and Asia–Pacific markets, the Financial Stability Board considers it a global systemically important bank and UBS is widely considered to be the largest and most sophisticated "truly global investment bank" in the world, given its market-leading positions in every major financial centre globally.
UBS investment bankers and private bankers are known for their strict bank–client confidentiality and culture of banking secrecy. Apart from private banking, UBS provides wealth management, asset management and investment banking services for private, corporate and institutional clients with international service. The bank also maintains numerous underground bank vaults, bunkers and storage facilities for gold bars around the Swiss Alps and internationally. UBS acquired rival Credit Suisse in an emergency rescue deal brokered by the Swiss government and its Central bank in 2023, following which UBS' AUM increased to over $5trillion along with an increased balanced sheet of $1.6trillion. ('Full article...)
Chemical's logo, adopted from Manufacturers Hanover after the banks' merger
Chemical Bank, headquartered in New York City, was the principal operating subsidiary of Chemical Banking Corporation, a bank holding company. In 1996, it acquired Chase Bank, adopted the Chase name, and became the largest bank in the United States. Prior to the 1996 merger, Chemical was the third-largest bank in the U.S., with $182.9 billion in assets and more than 39,000 employees. In addition to operations in the U.S., it had a major presence in Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom. It was active in corporate banking as well as retail banking and investment banking and underwriting corporate bonds and equity.
The bank was founded in 1824 as a subsidiary of the New York Chemical Manufacturing Company by Balthazar P. Melick and others; the manufacturing operations were sold by 1851. Major acquisitions by the bank included Corn Exchange Bank in 1954, Texas Commerce Bank in 1987, and Manufacturers Hanover in 1991. The bank converted to the holding company format in 1968. (Full article...)
The Bank of France was originally established by Napoleon Bonaparte as a private-sector corporation with unique public status. It was granted note-issuance monopoly in Paris in 1803 and in the entire country in 1848. Long independent from direct political interference, it was brought under government control in 1936 and eventually nationalized in 1945. While other banks of issue were established in the French colonial empire, the Bank of France remained Metropolitan France's sole monetary authority until France's adoption of the euro as its currency. As of 2025, its balance sheet total was $1.818 trillion, making it the 5th largest central bank in the world. (Full article...)
Image 8Statesman 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 9Beethovenstraat branch in Amsterdam, 1970 (from AMRO Bank)
![Image 6Rotterdam head office [nl], later repurposed as a shopping center (from AMRO Bank)](./?mortyurl=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFile%3AForum_Rotterdam_-_Rotterdamsche_Bank_2022_01.jpg)
![Image 28Interior of the Helsinki Branch of the Vyborg-Bank [fi] in the 1910s (from Bank)](./?mortyurl=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFile%3APohjoismaiden_Osakepankin_Helsingin_sivukonttori.jpg)
![Image 38Former branch [fi] in Tampere (from Bank of Finland)](./?mortyurl=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFile%3ASuomen_Pankin_talo_Tampere.jpg)
![Image 41Helsinki head office extension designed by Harry W. Schreck [fi] in the late 1950s (from Bank of Finland)](./?mortyurl=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFile%3ABank_of_Finland%2C_Helsinki_-_DSC05358.JPG)
