Bank

A commercial institution licensed as a taker of deposits. Banks are concerned mainly with making and receiving payments on behalf of their customers, accepting deposits, and making short­ term loans to private individuals, compa­nies, and other organizations. In the UK, the banking system comprises the *Bank of England (the central bank), the *­ commercial banks, *merchant banks,
branches of foreign and Commonwealth banks, the *National Savings Bank, and the National Girobank (see GIKO). The first (1990) *building. society to become a bank in the UK was the Abbey National, after its public *flotation; many other building societies have now followed this prece­ dent. In other countries, banks are also usually supervised by a government-con­ trolled central bank.