Industry WIKI
Digital assets and currencies
Understand assets, networks and trading mechanics with sources you can check.
.bank
.bank is a generic top level domain (gTLD) used in the Domain Name System of the internet. The TLD was officially delegated to fTLD Registry Services on behalf of the Financial Services Roundtable and the American Bankers Association on January 5, 2015.
Banking2009 United Kingdom bank rescue package
A second bank rescue package totalling at least £50 billion was announced by the British government on 12 January 2009, as a response to the 2008 financial crisis. The package was designed to increase the amount of money that banks could lend to businesses and private individuals. This aid came in two parts: an initial £50 billion made available to big corporate borrowers, and a second u
FinanceAffirm Holdings
Affirm Holdings, Inc. is an American financial technology company and a point-of-sale lender. Founded in 2012 by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin, it is the largest U.S. based buy now, pay later (BNPL) financier. As of 2026, Affirm reports nearly 28 million users and processes $50 billion in annual payments.
BankingAlexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton
Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton (27 October 1774 – 12 May 1848) was a British politician, diplomat and financier. A member of the Baring family, he was the second son of Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet.
Payments & settlementAmerican Express
American Express Company (Amex) is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Express Tower, in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan; in 2026, the company announced that it would develop and be the sole occupant of the new 2 World Trad
FinanceAmerican Psycho
American Psycho is a horror novel by American writer Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first-person by Patrick Bateman, a wealthy, narcissistic, and vain Manhattan investment banker who lives a double life as a serial killer. Alison Kelly of The Observer notes that while "Some countries [deem it] so potentially controversial that it only to be sold as shrink-
Fiat currenciesAsian Monetary Fund
The Asian Monetary Fund (AMF) was an idea put forward by the Japanese government during the 1997 Asian financial crisis at the G7-IMF meetings in Hong Kong during September 20–25, 1997, that was never implemented. The proposal was that an institution be formed to work towards setting up a regional network funded by Asian countries to overcome current and future economic crisis.
BankingAssociation of German Public Banks
The Association of German Public Banks (German: Bundesverband Öffentlicher Banken Deutschlands, generally referred to as VÖB) is a leading association within the German banking sector, bringing together most of the German public banking sector except the local-level savings banks (German: Sparkassen). Its membership includes 63 banks, including the Landesbanks that are also members of th
BankingBank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
BankingBank code
A bank code is a code assigned by a central bank, a bank supervisory body or a Bankers Association in a country to all its licensed member banks or financial institutions. The rules vary to a great extent between the countries. Also the name of bank codes varies. In some countries the bank codes can be viewed over the internet, but mostly in the local language.
BankingBanker (ancient)
The banker of ancient times was employed within financial activities, during the ancient Mesopotamian, ancient Greek and ancient Roman periods.
Securities & exchangesBanker's acceptance
A banker's acceptance is a document issued by a bank institution that represents a bank's commitment to make a requested future payment. The request will typically specify the payee, the amount, and the date on which it is eligible for payment. After acceptance, the request becomes an unconditional liability of the bank. Banker's acceptances are distinguished from ordinary time drafts in
BankingBanker's right to combine accounts
Under English law, a bank has a general right to combine accounts where a customer has multiple accounts with the same bank. The right has been recognised since at least 1860. However it was not until the 1975 House of Lords decision in National Westminster Bank Ltd v Halesowen Presswork & Assemblies Ltd [1972] AC 785 that it was finally determined that this was a type of set-off righ
BankingBankers (Northern Ireland) Act 1928
The Bankers (Ireland) Act 1928 (18 & 19 Geo. 5. c. 15) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the Bankers (Ireland) Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. 37) in application to Northern Ireland after the 1921 Partition of Ireland, and to restrict circulation, in Northern Ireland, of notes issued outside of the United Kingdom.
BankingBankers' bonuses
Bankers' bonuses are traditionally paid or awarded to some workers in the finance industry at the end of the bank's financial year. They are intended to reward employee behavior during that year that has increased the profits of the bank or some relevant part of its business, as shown by the annual accounts. The bonus culture is usually associated with the front office or investment bank
BankingBerenberg family
The Berenberg family (Dutch for "bear mountain") was a Flemish-origined Hanseatic family of merchants, bankers and senators in Hamburg, with branches in London, Livorno and other European cities. The family was descended from the brothers Hans and Paul Berenberg from Antwerp, who came as Protestant refugees to the city-republic of Hamburg following the Fall of Antwerp in 1585 and who est
BankingBethmann family
The Bethmann family (; BET-mahn) has been remarkable for the high proportion of its male members who succeeded at mercantile or financial endeavors. This family trait began in medieval northern Germany and continued with the Bethmann bank, which Johann Philipp Bethmann (1715–1793) and Simon Moritz Bethmann (1721–1782) founded in 1748 and soon catapulted into the foremost ranks of German
Payments & settlementBharatPe
BharatPe is an Indian fintech company headquartered in New Delhi (Delhi NCR) that provides digital payment and financial services to small merchants and Grocery stores. Founded in 2018, the company offers unified QR code payment acceptance, point-of-sale (POS) devices, and merchant credit facilities.
Trading basicsBig Bang (financial markets)
The phrase Big Bang, used in reference to the sudden deregulation of financial markets, was coined to describe measures, including abolition of fixed commission charges and of the distinction between stockjobbers and stockbrokers on the London Stock Exchange and change from open outcry to screen-based electronic trading, effected by UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1986.
Trading basicsBills of Exchange Act 1882
The Bills of Exchange Act 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c. 61) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that codified the law relating to bills of exchange. Bills of exchange are widely used to finance trade and, when discounted with a financial institution, to obtain credit.
Fiat currenciesBimetallism
Bimetallism, also known as the bimetallic standard, is a monetary standard in which the value of the monetary unit is defined as equivalent to certain quantities of two metals, creating a fixed rate of exchange between them. In all known historical cases, the metals are gold and silver.
AssetsBitMEX
BitMEX was a cryptocurrency exchange and derivative trading platform incorporated in the Seychelles. It was operated by HDR Global Trading Limited.
Securities & exchangesBoaz Weinstein
Boaz Ronald Weinstein (born 1973) is an American hedge fund manager and founder of Saba Capital Management. He rose to prominence at Deutsche Bank in the early and mid 2000s with his credit default swap and capital structure arbitrage trading strategies. He then formed a proprietary trading group within Deutsche Bank. After leaving the bank in 2009, Weinstein started Saba Capital Managem
BankingBritish banking law
British banking law refers to banking law in the United Kingdom, to control the activities of banks.
Fiat currenciesBureau de change
A bureau de change (plural bureaux de change, both BURE-oh də SHONZH; British English) or currency exchange (American English) is a business where people can buy or sell a foreign currency.
BankingC. Hoare & Co
C. Hoare & Co., also known as Hoares, is a British private bank, founded in 1672 by Sir Richard Hoare. A twelfth-generation family business, it is owned by eight of Sir Richard's direct descendants. It is the oldest privately owned bank in the United Kingdom and reputedly the fourth-oldest in continuous operation globally. It is also the second oldest family owned bank in the world after
Trading basicsCashier's check
A cashier's check (or cashier's cheque, cashier's order, official check; in Canada, the term bank draft is used, not to be confused with Banker's draft as used in the United States) is a check guaranteed by a bank, drawn on the bank's own funds and signed by a bank employee. Cashier's checks are treated as guaranteed funds because the bank, rather than the purchaser, is both the drawee a
BankingCelebrity bond
A celebrity bond is commercial debt security issued by a holder of fame-based intellectual property rights to receive money upfront from investors on behalf of the bond issuer and their celebrity clients in exchange for assigning investors the right to collect future royalty monies to the works covered by the intellectual property rights listed in the bond. Typically backed by music prop
Fiat currenciesChartalism
Chartalism is a heterodox theory in macroeconomics that views money as a pure creation of the state, introduced to control and organize economic activity rather than arising from barter or debt.
BankingCheque
A cheque (or check in American English) is a document that orders a bank, building society, or credit union, to pay a specific amount of money from a person's account to the person in whose name the cheque has been issued. The person writing the cheque, known as the drawer, has a transaction banking account (often called a current, cheque, chequing, checking, or share draft account) wher
Payments & settlementCheque and Credit Clearing Company
The Cheque and Credit Clearing Company Limited (C&CCC) is a UK membership-based industry body whose 11 members are the UK clearing banks. The company has managed the cheque clearing system in England and Wales since 1985, in all of Great Britain since 1996 when it took over responsibility for managing the Scottish cheque clearing as well, and in the whole of the United Kingdom since the
BankingCheque clearing
Cheque clearing (or check clearing in American English) or bank clearance is the process of moving cash (or its equivalent) from one bank, from which a cheque is drawn, to another bank, in which it was deposited. Clearance is usually accompanied by the movement of the cheque to the paying bank, either in the traditional physical paper form or digitally under a cheque truncation system. T
BankingChester Howell Ferguson
Chester Howell Ferguson (July 1, 1908 – March 3, 1983) was a prominent Tampa lawyer, banker and businessman whose record of community service was long and distinguished.
Fiat currenciesChiang Mai Initiative
The Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) is a multilateral currency swap arrangement among the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the People's Republic of China (including Hong Kong), Japan, and South Korea. It draws from a foreign exchange reserves pool worth US$120 billion and was launched on 24 March 2010. That pool has been expanded to $240 billion in 2012.
FinanceClearing (finance)
In banking and finance, clearing refers to all activities from the time a commitment is made for a transaction until it is settled. This process turns the promise of payment (for example, in the form of a cheque or electronic payment request) into the actual movement of money from one account to another. Clearing houses were formed to facilitate such transactions among banks.
FinanceClearing house (finance)
A clearing house, often written as clearinghouse, is a financial institution formed to facilitate the exchange (i.e., clearance) of payments, securities, or derivatives transactions. The clearing house stands between two clearing firms (also known as member firms or participants).
BankingClearing House Interbank Payments System
The Clearing House Interbank Payments System, commonly known as the CHIPS network, is the largest private sector USD clearing and settlement network in the world for high-value wire payments. The network, along with several other U.S. payment systems, is operated by The Clearing House Payments Company L.L.C. (The Clearing House), which is owned by member financial institutions.
BankingClifford family (bankers)
The Clifford family was a family of bankers, merchants, and regents of English descent who were active in Amsterdam during the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. In the first half of the 18th century, the Clifford bank was second only to Pels, the greatest merchant bank in Europe at that time. The family originated in northern England, although the surname originated in the village
Trading basicsCMC Markets
CMC Markets plc is a UK-based financial services company that offers online trading in shares, spread betting, contracts for difference (CFDs), and foreign exchange across global markets. The company is headquartered in London, with hubs in Sydney and Singapore. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
BankingCo-op Solutions
CU Cooperative Systems, Inc. was a company providing services to credit unions in the United States. It is now a part of Velera, although the combined organization continues to use the Co-op Solutions brand. Other names it has used includes CO-OP Financial Services and Co-op Network. It operated an interbank network connecting the ATMs of credit unions in the United States, with locatio
Fiat currenciesCoincidence of wants
The coincidence of wants (often known as double coincidence of wants) is an economic phenomenon where two parties each hold an item that the other wants, so they exchange these items directly. Within economics, this has often been presented as the foundation of a bartering economy.
BankingContractum trinius
The contractus trinus, contractus triplex, or simply triple contract, is a set of contracts used by European bankers and merchants in the Middle Ages, notably by the Fugger family, as a method of circumventing the canon law prohibition of usury.
BankingCooperative banking
Cooperative banking is retail and commercial banking organized on a cooperative basis. Cooperative banking institutions take deposits and lend money in most parts of the world.
Trading basicsCredit default swap
A credit default swap (CDS) is a financial swap agreement that the seller of the CDS will compensate the buyer in the event of a debt default (by the debtor) or other credit event. That is, the seller of the CDS insures the buyer against some reference asset defaulting. The buyer of the CDS makes a series of payments (the CDS "fee" or "spread") to the seller and, in exchange, may expect
Fiat currenciesCredit theory of money
Credit theories of money, also called debt theories of money, are monetary economic theories concerning the relationship between credit and money. Proponents of these theories, such as Alfred Mitchell-Innes, sometimes emphasize that money and credit/debt are the same thing, seen from different points of view. Proponents assert that the essential nature of money is credit (debt), at leas
FinanceCredit union
A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit cooperative financial institution. It may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (checking accounts), credit cards, credit, share term certificates (certificates of deposit), and online banking. Normally, only a member of a credit union may deposit or borr
AssetsCryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency is a type of digital asset that uses distributed ledger, or blockchain, technology to enable a secure transaction.
Fiat currenciesCurrency
A currency is a standardized form of money used as a medium of exchange. Under this definition, the US dollar, the euro, the yen, sterling, and the renminbi are examples of (government-issued) fiat currencies. Currencies may act as stores of value and be traded between nations in foreign exchange markets, which determine the relative values of the different currencies.
Fiat currenciesCurrency in circulation
In monetary economics, the currency in circulation in a country is the value of
Trading basicsCUSIP
A CUSIP () is a nine-character numeric or alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies a North American financial security for the purposes of facilitating clearing and settlement of trades. All CUSIP identifiers are fungible, which means that a unique CUSIP identifier for each individual security stays the same, regardless of the exchange where the shares were purchased or venue on which
Trading basicsDBFX
dbFX was Deutsche Bank’s online margin foreign exchange trading platform and service for individual and institutional investors including financial institutions, hedge funds, corporations, asset managers, money managers, commodity trading advisors, broker-dealers, brokerage firms, high net worth individuals, and sophisticated and professional traders, which operated from 2006-2011.
Fiat currenciesDemurrage currency
Demurrage currency, also known as depreciating money or stamp scrip in its paper money form, is a type of money that is designed to gradually lose purchasing power at a constant rate. Demurrage money is often confused with inflation, as they both cause money to lose value, but they have significantly different economic effects. Unlike normal money, demurrage is designed to be only a temp
Trading basicsDeposit insurance
Deposit insurance, deposit protection or deposit guarantee is a measure implemented in many countries to protect bank depositors, in full or in part, from losses caused by a bank's inability to pay its debts when due. Deposit insurance or deposit guarantee systems are one component of a financial system safety net that promotes financial stability, and are typically integrated with bank
FinanceDiebold Nixdorf
Diebold Nixdorf, Incorporated is an American multinational financial and retail technology company based in North Canton, Ohio. It specializes in the sale, manufacture, installation, and service of self-service transaction systems (such as ATMs and currency processing systems), point-of-sale terminals, physical security products, and software and related services for global financial, re
BankingDigital card
A digital card is either a physical item, such as a memory card on a camera, or, increasingly since 2017, the digital content hosted
Fiat currenciesDigital currency
Digital currency (digital money, electronic money or electronic currency) is any currency, money, or money-like asset that is primarily managed, stored or exchanged on digital computer systems, especially over the internet. Types of digital currencies include cryptocurrency, virtual currency and central bank digital currency. Digital currency may be recorded on a distributed database on
Fiat currenciesDigital gold currency
Digital gold currency (DGC) is a form of digital currency based on mass units of gold. The typical unit of account for such currency is linked to grams or troy ounces of gold, although other units such as the gold dinar are sometimes used. DGCs are backed by gold through unallocated or allocated gold storage. A digital gold currency could be a kind of representative money if it is exchan
Trading basicsDodd–Frank Act
The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, commonly referred to as the Dodd–Frank Act, is a United States federal law enacted on July 21, 2010, as the primary legislative response to the 2007–2008 financial crisis—the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Named for its sponsors, Senator Chris Dodd and Representative Barney Frank, the law was signed by Pre
FinanceDurbin amendment
The Durbin amendment, implemented by Regulation II, is a provision of United States federal law, 15 U.S.C. § 1693o-2, that requires the Federal Reserve to limit fees charged to retailers for debit card processing. It was passed as part of the Dodd–Frank financial reform legislation in 2010, as a last-minute addition by Dick Durbin, a senator from Illinois, after whom the amendment is nam
BankingEarnIn
EarnIn is an American earnings management company that provides earned wage access services and other financial and payroll-related services.
Trading basicsEconomic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act
The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (abbreviated EGRRCPA; Pub. L. 115–174 (text) (PDF), S. 2155) was signed into law by President Donald Trump on May 24, 2018. The bill eased financial regulations imposed by the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act after the 2008 financial crisis.
BankingEngwall family
The Engwall family (Swedish pronunciation: [ɛːŋːvˈǎll] ) is a prominent Swedish family descended from Jonas Engwall, an inventor and engineer. The Engwalls are noted as merchants, industrialists, scholars, bankers, politicians, activists, bureaucrats, military officials, philanthropists, economists, and diplomats.
BankingEthical banking
An ethical bank, also known as a social, alternative, civic, or sustainable bank, is a bank concerned with the social and environmental impacts of its investments and loans. The ethical banking movement includes: ethical investment, impact investment, socially responsible investment, corporate social responsibility, and is also related to such movements as the fair trade movement, ethica
Securities & exchangesEugene Rotberg
Eugene Harvey Rotberg, (January 19, 1930 – October 6, 2025) was an American lawyer and international investment banker. He was known for his expertise in financial risk management, interest and exchange rates, financial market regulation, and the role of international development institutions.
BankingEuropean banking crisis of 1931
The European banking crisis of 1931 was a major episode of financial instability that peaked with the collapse of several major banks in Austria and Germany, including Creditanstalt on 11 May 1931, Landesbank der Rheinprovinz on 11 July 1931, and Danat-Bank on 13 July 1931. It triggered Germany's exit from the gold standard on 15 July 1931, followed by the UK on 19 September 1931, and ex
Payments & settlementFaster Payment System (United Kingdom)
The Faster Payment System (FPS) is a United Kingdom real-time gross settlement system which facilitates transfers between different banks' customer accounts within a few seconds. The system offers faster settlement times than the long-established BACS and CHAPS systems. FPS processes a large volume of small payments, subject to limits set by the individual banks, with some allowing Faste
Fiat currenciesFiat money
Fiat money or fiat currency is a type of government-issued currency, generally created by a central bank, authorized by government regulation to be legal tender but not backed by a precious metal, such as gold or silver, nor by any other tangible asset or commodity. Since the end of the Bretton Woods system in 1976 by the Jamaica Accords, all the major government currencies in the world
Trading basicsFinancial market
A financial market is a marketplace where the pricing and trade of securities, commodities, currency, derivatives, or other financial products takes place. The term may refer to a specific stock or commodity exchange, or to the general process by which relevant economic activity is organized and carried out.
FinanceFinancial Stability Board
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system. It was established in the 2009 G20 Pittsburgh Summit as a successor to the Financial Stability Forum (FSF). The Board includes all G20 major economies, FSF members, and the European Commission. Hosted and funded by the Bank for International Settlements,
FinanceFinancial Stability Forum
The Financial Stability Forum (FSF) was a group consisting of major national financial authorities such as finance ministries, central bankers, and international financial bodies. It was first convened in April 1999 in Washington. At the 2009 G20 London summit, the G20 nations established a successor to the FSF, called the Financial Stability Board with an expanded membership and broaden
FinanceFinancialization
Financialization (or financialisation in British English) is a term sometimes used to describe the development of financial capitalism during the period from 1980 to the present, in which debt-to-equity ratios increased and financial services accounted for an increasing share of national income relative to other sectors.
BankingFrançois Fatio
François Fatio (June 1622 – 14 April 1704) was a Genevan merchant, banker, and entrepreneur who served as a member of the Council of Two Hundred and the Council of Sixty of Geneva. He was a Protestant plantation owner of an enslaved-labor sugar plantation in Suriname.
BankingFriends of Traditional Banking
The Friends of Traditional Banking (FOTB) is an independent expenditure-only committee, or super PAC, with the aim of improving the political and regulatory environment for the banking industry in the United States by decreasing federal regulation, particularly by repealing the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. As a non-partisan trade group, it selects a small nu
BankingFugger family
The House of Fugger (German pronunciation: [ˈfʊɡɐ]) is a German family that was historically a prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and venture capitalists. Alongside the Welser family, the Fugger family controlled much of the European economy in the sixteenth century and
BankingFugitive bankers case
The Case of the Fugitive Bankers was a political scandal in Venezuela that came about during the 1994 banking crisis, when several banks collapsed and their directors fled the country. Among them were Orlando Castro Llanes, Fernando Araújo, director of Banco Metropolitano and son-in-law of then-president, Rafael Caldera, Gustavo Gómez López of Banco Latino, José Bauza of Banco de Venezue
Securities & exchangesFutures contract
In finance, a futures contract (often just called a future) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The item transacted is usually a commodity or financial instrument. The predetermined price of the contract is known as the forward price or delivery pric
BankingGhost (1990 film)
Ghost is a 1990 American supernatural romance film directed by Jerry Zucker, written by Bruce Joel Rubin, and starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, and Tony Goldwyn. The film's plot follows Sam Wheat (Swayze), a banker who is murdered and returns as a ghost, unable to interact with the living world. With the help of psychic con artist Oda Mae Brown (Goldberg), Sam attempt
Fiat currenciesGibson's paradox
Gibson's paradox is the observation that the rate of interest and the general level of prices under the gold standard are positively correlated. It is named for British economist Alfred Herbert Gibson who noted the correlation in a 1923 article for Banker's Magazine. The correlation had been noted earlier by Thomas Tooke.
BankingGiovanni Villani
Giovanni Villani (Italian pronunciation: [dʒoˈvanni vilˈlaːni]; c. 1276 or 1280 – 1348) was an Italian banker, official, diplomat and chronicler from Florence who wrote the Nuova Cronica (New Chronicles) on the history of Florence. He was a leading statesman of Florence but later gained an unsavoury reputation and served time in prison as a result of the bankruptcy of a trading and banki
FinanceGlobal Finance & Technology Network
Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) (formerly Elevandi) is a Singapore-based nonprofit organisation created by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 2024 to support the development of the global fintech ecosystem.
BankingGold standard
A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is defined by a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the late 1920s to 1932 as well as from 1944 until 1971, when the United States unilaterally terminated convertibility of the US dollar into gold, effect
BankingGoldsmith
A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and serviceable utensils, and ceremonial or religious items.
FinanceGreenSky
GreenSky, LLC is an American financial technology company. Founded in 2006 and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it provides technology to banks and merchants to provide loans in the home improvement, solar, and healthcare sectors.
BankingHaute Banque
Haute Banque refers to the network of private bankers which dominated international finance during much of the 19th century, exemplified by the Rothschild family and including numerous other European banking families. Its influence declined in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as it became marginalized by the rise of universal banks and central banks.
Securities & exchangesHedge (finance)
A hedge is an investment position intended to offset potential losses or gains that may be incurred by a companion investment. A hedge can be constructed from many types of financial instruments, including stocks, exchange-traded funds, insurance, forward contracts, swaps, options, gambles, many types of over-the-counter and derivative products, and futures contracts.
BankingHenry Grunfeld
Henry Grunfeld (1 June 1904 – 10 June 1999) was a merchant banker who played a prominent role in the development of investment banking and the growth of London as a financial centre following the Second World War.
BankingHenry Hope
Henry Hope (1735–1811) was an Amsterdam merchant banker born in Braintree, Province of Massachusetts Bay. He emigrated to the Netherlands to join the family business, the Dutch bank Hope & Co., at a young age. From 1779, Henry became the manager of Hope & Co. and participated in the firm for about a third from 1782. He is considered to be as great a genius as his uncle Thomas Hope who fo
BankingHistory of banking in Malta
The term "bank" is attributed to the tables used by "trapezitai", ancient Greek bankers, which provided currency exchange, money storage and loan services, facilitating trade. (See main article: History of Banking)
FinanceHistory of insurance
The history of insurance traces the development of the modern business of insurance against risks, especially regarding cargo, property, death, automobile accidents, and medical treatment.
BankingHochstetter family
The Höchstetter family (also rendered Hechstetter or Hochstetter), from Höchstädt in western Bavaria near the banks of the Danube, were members of the fifteenth and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg.
BankingHope & Co.
Hope & Co. was a Dutch bank that existed for two and a half centuries. The bank was located in Amsterdam until 1795; originally it concentrated on Great Britain. In the second half of the 18th century, it was the most powerful merchant bank of Amsterdam, and thus Europe, as Amsterdam was at that time Europe's leading financial centre. From 1750 it played a major part in the finances of t
Securities & exchangesInsurance-linked security
An insurance-linked security (ILS) is a type of financial asset whose value is driven by insurance loss events. Those such instruments that are linked to property losses due to natural catastrophes represent a unique asset class, the return from which is uncorrelated with that of other marketable asset classes.
Securities & exchangesInterest rate future
An interest rate future is a futures contract (a financial derivative) with an interest-bearing instrument as the underlying asset. It is a particular type of interest rate derivative. Examples include Treasury-bill futures, Treasury-bond futures and Eurodollar futures.
BankingInvestment banking
Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service primarily for corporations, governments, and institutional investors. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by underwriting or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of debt or equity securities. An investment bank may also provide services to companies involve
Fiat currenciesLegal tender
Legal tender is a form of money that the law recognises as valid for the discharge of a monetary debt in a jurisdiction. What constitutes legal tender varies between jurisdictions.
Payments & settlementLetter of credit
A letter of credit (LC), also known as a documentary credit or bankers commercial credit, or letter of undertaking (LoU), is a payment mechanism used in international trade to provide an economic guarantee from a creditworthy bank to an exporter of goods. Letters of credit are used extensively in the financing of international trade, when the reliability of contracting parties cannot be
Securities & exchangesLewis Ranieri
Lewis S. Ranieri (; born 1947) is a former bond trader, and founding partner and current chairman of Ranieri Partners, a real estate firm.
BankingLibor
The London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (Libor LY-bor) was an interest rate average calculated from estimates submitted by the leading banks in London. Each bank estimated what it would be charged were it to borrow from other banks. It was the primary benchmark, along with the Euribor, for short-term interest rates around the world. Libor was phased out at the end of 2021, with market partic
BankingLibor scandal
The Libor scandal was a series of criminal allegations by financial authorities connected to the Libor (London Inter-bank Offered Rate) and the related Euribor benchmark, together with the resulting investigations and prosecutions. All ten convictions in the United States were overturned or vacated by 2022, after appellate courts held there was no evidence traders had broken any laws or
Trading basicsLondon Metal Exchange
The London Metal Exchange (LME) is a futures and forwards exchange in London, United Kingdom with the world's largest market in standardised forward contracts, futures contracts and options on base metals. The exchange also offers contracts on ferrous metals and precious metals. The company also allows for cash trading. It offers hedging, worldwide reference pricing, and the option of ph