Banking matters Activity A. Current accounts

Activity 4. Find verbs in А, В and С sections that can be used to make word combinations with the nouns below. Then use some of the verbs to complete the sentences.
charge interest
assess or calculate risks
withdraw money
1.With standardized products, all customers are charged the same interest rate.
2.Banks generally know from experience how much cash to keep in their reserves for customers who want to withdraw it.
3.Banks carefully study the financial situation of a company to assess or calculate the risk involved in lending it money.
Unit: Financial institutions

Activity 1. Read the information given in A, B, C sections and translate words and word combinations.
A. Types of financial institution
For most of the 20th century, most banks operated in one country only (in the US, in one state only). Different kinds of banks did specialized kinds of financial business:

• 
  Retail banks or commercial banks worked with individuals and small companies:
  

• 
  received deposits
  
• 
  made loans
  

• 
  Investment banks worked with big companies:
  

• 
  gave financial advice
  
• 
  raised capital - increased the amount of money companies had by issuing stocks or shares and bonds
  
• 
  organized mergers and takeover
  

• 
  Insurance companies
  

• 
  provided life insurance and pensions.
  

• 
  Building societies
  

• 
  specialized in mortgages. Many have now become normal commercial banks.
  

Bonds: debts, that pay interest and are repaid at a fixed future date
merger: when two or more companies join together