What financial institutions are there in Britain?
First, the central bank-the Bank of England.
The Bank of England is the central bank of Britain. 1694 was established according to the special permission law of the king. It is the first registered joint-stock bank in Britain with the nature of limited company. At that time, the Bank of England was not a special central bank. Like other private banks, it also deals in general deposits. Until 1833, the British Parliament stipulated that only banknotes issued by the Bank of England had unlimited legal compensation, thus laying the foundation for the Bank of England as the British central bank. 1946 In February, the British government promulgated the Bank of New England Act, nationalizing the entire share capital of the Bank of England. Since then, the Bank of England has become a nationalized central bank.
Second, British banking institutions.
All banking institutions in Britain must obtain the approval of the Bank of England before taking deposits. Some specific activities require special business licenses, but there are no clear restrictions on the activities of different institutions. British banking institutions can be mainly divided into the following categories:
1. Retail bank. In Britain, clearing banks are the main institutions of retail banking and fund transfer activities. These banks are one of the largest banks in Britain and the most important international banks in Britain.
The clearing banks in Britain are mainly distributed in England and Wales, including Barclays Bank, National Westminster Bank, Midland Bank, Lloyd's Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland Group and TSB Group. In addition, Girobank is a bank set up by the post office to provide general demand deposits and money delivery services, and also belongs to retail banks.
2. accept the house. These institutions are commercial banks with a long history and belong to the acceptance association. Its traditional business is trade financing and providing most acceptance bills. At present, despite the fierce competition in the banking industry, its bills can still be discounted in the Bank of England. Now the business of the accepting bank has expanded to the fields of corporate financing, investment management, loans, syndicated business and so on.
3. Commercial banks. The business of commercial banks originated from European commercial activities in the18th century. The initial business was to accept bills from merchants, and then gradually developed from the initial trade financing service to providing long-term funds and other professional services and consulting for governments and enterprises. In Britain, financial institutions engaged in this kind of business are called commercial banks, which have the function of providing professional services and consulting to enterprises and governments, and rarely use their own capital, similar to American investment banks. The commercial banks in Britain have a certain function of absorbing deposits and can be classified as deposit institutions.
The development of commercial banks is closely related to the development of trade and capital markets. The business of commercial banks generally includes short-term and medium-term financing, long-term financing, investment management, brokerage services and other emerging services. Compared with traditional commercial banks, commercial banks are more dependent on the market.
Since the development of commercial banks, there are mainly the following forms of existence: first, it is common for commercial banks to own commercial banks through mergers, acquisitions, equity participation or the establishment of subsidiaries; Second, an independent merchant bank; Third, universal banks directly operate commercial banking business.
4. Post discount houses. London Discount Market Association was established. It consists of the currency trading departments of some designated banks and is engaged in highly specialized banking business. Its main business includes: underwriting weekly treasury bonds sold by the Bank of England; Trading short-term financial instruments in pounds, such as government bills, bank bills, commercial bills, pound certificates of deposit and short-term government bonds; Recourse to the Bank of England (because the Bank of England can make up for the shortage of short-term funds by buying bills or direct loans).
5. Foreign banks. Since the last century, a large number of European and American banks have set up their own business offices in the City of London, making London an international financial center. At present, there are about 540 foreign banks in London, including branches and subsidiaries of foreign banks and international cooperative banks.
6. Other financial institutions. Other financial institutions include construction industry associations (accepting deposits and providing financing for housing construction and purchase), finance companies (providing consumer credit) and national savings banks.