Banking can be defined as the business activity of accepting and safeguarding money owned by other individuals and entities, and then lending out this money in order to earn a profit. However, with the passage of time, the activities covered by banking business have widened and now various other services are also offered by banks. The banking services these days include issuance of debit and credit cards, providing safe custody of valuable items, lockers, ATM services and online transfer of funds across the country / world.
Banking systems can be defined as a mechanism through which the money supply of the country is created and controlled. It is well said that banking plays a silent, yet crucial part in our day-to-day lives. The banks perform financial intermediation by pooling savings and channelizing them into investments through maturity and risk transformations, thereby keeping the economy’s growth engine revving.
Banks have played a critical role in the economic development of some developed countries such as Japan and Germany and most of the emerging economies including India. Banks today are important not just from the point of view of economic growth, but also financial stability. In emerging economies, banks are special for three important reasons. First, they take a leading role in developing other financial intermediaries and markets. Second, due to the absence of well-developed equity and bond markets, the corporate sector depends heavily on banks to meet its financing needs. Finally, in emerging markets such as India, banks cater to the needs of a vast number of savers from the household sector, who prefer assured income and liquidity and safety of funds, because of their inadequate capacity to manage financial risks.
Banking business has done wonders for the world economy. The simple looking method of accepting money deposits from savers and then lending the same money to borrowers, banking activity encourages the flow of