BANGKING SYSTEM

Matthew 25:27

Viewing the King James Version. Click to switch to 1611 King James Version of Matthew 25:27.

Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

A bank is a financial institution and a financial intermediary that accepts deposits and channels those deposits into lending activities, either directly or through capital markets. A bank connects customers that have capital deficits to customers with capital surpluses.

Due to their critical status within the financial system and the economy generally, banks are highly regulated in most countries. Most banks operate under a system known as fractional reserve banking where they hold only a small reserve of the funds deposited and lend out the rest for profit. They are generally subject to minimum capital requirements which are based on an international set of capital standards, known as the Basel Accords.

The oldest bank still in existence is Monte dei Paschi di Siena, headquartered in Siena, Italy, which has been operating continuously since 1472.It is followed by Berenberg Bank of Hamburg (1590) and Sveriges Riksbank of Sweden (1668).