Agency

1. A relationship between two parties: one, the principal, on whose behalf some action with a third party is being taken by the other, the agent. An agency agreement might exist, for exam­ple, when one person gives a power of attorney to another to negotiate a con­tract on his or her behalf, or when a bank purchases securities for a customer.
2. An organization or individual that provides such an agency service.
3. Securities issued in the USA by non-Treasury Department sources, such as the National Mortgage Association.
4. One bank that acts as the organizer for a group of banks lending money to a corporation.