Bank

The definition for bank, according to the Federal Reserve System, is as follows:

'''[http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/12/221.html TITLE 12, CHAPTER 3, SUBCHAPTER I, Sec. 221. Definitions]'''

"Wherever the word bank is used in this chapter, the word shall be held to include State bank, banking association, and trust company, except where national banks or Federal reserve banks are specifically referred to.

"The terms national bank and national banking association used in this chapter shall be held to be synonymous and interchangeable. The term member bank shall be held to mean any national bank, State bank, or bank or trust company which has become a member of one of the Federal reserve banks. The term board shall be held to mean Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; the term district shall be held to mean Federal reserve district; the term reserve bank shall be held to mean Federal reserve bank; the term the continental United States means the States of the United States and the District of Columbia.

"The terms bonds and notes of the United States, bonds and notes of the Government of the United States, and bonds or notes of the United States used in this chapter shall be held to include certificates of indebtedness and Treasury bills issued under section 3104 of title 31."

bank: Institution for receiving, lending, and safeguarding money. It may receive money on deposit, cash checks or bills of exchange, make loans, discount commercial paper, and issue bank notes (promissory notes payable to bearer).


 * central bank: The bank in a state which is responsible for issuing the state's currency, regulating the quantity of its money in circulation, maintaining currency reserves, and acting as a lender of last resort.


 * commercial bank: A business firm that maintains custody of money deposited by its customers and pays on drafts written by its customers. It earns its profits by investing the money it has on deposit.


 * confirming bank: A bank that makes an independent promise to pay, accept, or negotiate a letter of credit issued by another bank when the documents named in the credit are delivered to it.


 * correspondent bank: A bank which acts as an agent of another bank, especially in carrying a deposit balance for the latter.


 * development bank: Bank which provides funds for the promotion of the economy of an area, country, region, or the world.

International Law Dictionary & Directory --

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External resources

 * The Banking Scam: Architecture of Modern Political Power