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Finances > Banks / Savings & Loans
A banker or bank is a financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money. It is an institution for receiving, keeping, and lending money. The first modern bank was founded in Italy in Genoa
in 1406, its name was Banco di San Giorgio (Bank of St. George). Many other financial activities were added over time. For example banks are important players in financial markets and offer financial services such as investment funds. In some countries
such as Germany, banks are the primary owners of industrial corporations while in other countries such as the United States banks are prohibited from owning non-financial companies. In Japan, banks are usually the nexus of cross share holding entity known
as zaibatsu. In France "Bancassurance" is highly present, as most banks offer insurance services (and now real estate services) to their clients. A savings and loan association, also known as a thrift, is a financial institution that specializes in
accepting savings deposits and making mortgage loans. The term is mainly used in the United States; similar institutions in the United Kingdom, Ireland and some Commonwealth countries include building societies and trustee savings banks. They are often
mutually held (often called mutual savings banks[citation needed]), meaning that the depositors and borrowers are members with voting rights, and have the ability to direct the financial and managerial goals of the organization. It is possible for a
savings and loan to be a joint stock company and even publicly traded. This means, however, that it truly no longer is an association and depositors and borrowers no longer have any managerial control.
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