A commercial bank is what is commonly considered a 'bank'. The
term 'commercial' is used to distinguish it from an 'investment
bank', a type of financial services entity which, instead of lending
money directly to a business, helps businesses raise money from
other firms in the form of bonds (debt) or stock (equity).
Major commercial banks include:
Top ten banking groups in the world ranked by tier 1 capital
Top ten banks in the world (as at end-2004) according to The Economist:
Rank
Company
Country
1.
Citigroup
US
2.
JPMorgan
Chase
US
3.
HSBC
UK
4.
Bank of
America
US
5.
Credit Agricole Group
France
6.
Royal Bank
of Scotland
UK
7.
Mitsubishi
Tokyo Financial Group
Japan
8.
Mizuho Financial
Group
Japan
9.
HBOS
UK
10.
BNP Paribas
France
Virtual banking
Banking from home is called virtual banking, because it allows transactions
that bypass branches and ATMs; in the case of Internet banking,
there is no need to contact a bank staff member.
Virtual banking has changed the way people bank in many ways. In
the past, people opened a bank account when they first started work
and stayed with that bank for their whole lives; now, it is much
easier to move an account, mortgage or loan from one banking institution
to another.
Many customers look at what other banks are offering and change
their account if they find a better deal, so banks now have fewer
loyal customers. It is common for credit card companies to entice
new customers with offers such as zero per cent interest for the
first six months.
Private banking
The term private bank is simply a marketing term for a bank or a
division of a financial services company targeted towards wealthy
individuals. Often it is used to describe specifically the lending
services targeted towards this group, such as large margin loans.