"Banker" redirects here. For other uses see Banker .
"Bankers" redirects here. For the economics book see The Bankers.
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Finance series Financial market Participants Corporate finance Personal finance Public finance Banks and Banking Financial regulation
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A bank is a financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money. It is an institution for receiving keeping and lending money. 1
The first modern bank was founded in Italy in Genoa in 1406 citation needed its name was Banco di San Giorgio .
Many other financial activities were added over time. For example banks are important players in financial markets and offer financial services such as investment funds. In some countries such as Germany banks are the primary owners of 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 cross share holding entity known as zaibatsu. In France "Bancassurance" is highly present as most banks offer insurance services to their clients.
