What are the main businesses of commercial banks?

The business of commercial banks can be divided into three categories according to the source and application of funds: asset business, liability business and intermediary business. Details are as follows:

1. Asset business refers to the use of funds drawn by banks, mainly including: lending business and investment business;

2. Liabilities are the main source of bank funds, including deposits and loans.

3. Intermediary business is to provide some services for users, including settlement business and trust business.

1. Commercial Bank, abbreviated as CB in English, is a kind of bank, whose duty is to act as a financial institution as a credit intermediary through deposits, loans, remittances and savings. The main business scope is to absorb public deposits, issue loans and discount bills. General commercial banks do not have the right to issue money, and the traditional business of commercial banks is mainly deposits and loans.

Second, the functions of commercial banks

Determined by its nature, its concept is different from that of central bank and investment bank. It is a savings institution rather than an investment institution, and it has five basic functions:

1, adjust the economy

Adjusting economy means that commercial banks adjust the shortage of funds in all aspects of society through their credit intermediary activities, and at the same time realize the adjustment of economic structure, consumption ratio investment and industrial structure under the guidance of the central bank's monetary policy and other national macro policies. In addition, commercial banks can adjust their balance of payments through their financing activities in the international market.

Because of its extensive functions, commercial banks have a great influence on the whole social and economic activities and occupy a special and important position in the whole financial system and even the national economy. With the development of market economy and the integration of global economy, commercial banks have highlighted the development trend of functional diversification in 20 12.

2. Credit generation

On the basis of credit intermediary function and payment intermediary function, commercial banks have produced credit creation function. Commercial banks are banks that can absorb all kinds of deposits and issue loans with all kinds of deposits absorbed. On the basis of cheque circulation and transfer settlement, loans are derived into deposits. On the basis of not withdrawing cash or completely withdrawing cash from such deposits, we will increase the sources of funds for commercial banks and eventually form derivative deposits several times as many as the original deposits in the whole banking system.

For a long time, commercial banks are the only financial institutions that can absorb demand deposits and open checking accounts, and on this basis, transfer and check circulation have emerged. Commercial banks create and reduce demand deposits through their own credit activities. If there is not enough loan demand and the deposit cannot be loaned, it will not be created, because the deposit is only derived from the loan; On the contrary, if the loan is repaid, the derivative deposit will shrink accordingly.

The degree of shrinkage is consistent with the degree of derivation. Therefore, for commercial banks, deposit absorption plays a very important role in their operations.

3. Credit intermediary

Credit intermediary is the most basic function of commercial banks, which can best reflect the characteristics of their business activities. The essence of this function is to concentrate all kinds of idle money in the society in the bank through the debt business of the bank, and then invest it in various economic sectors through the asset business; As the intermediary or representative of both borrowers and lenders of monetary funds, commercial banks realize the financing and obtain interest income from the difference between the cost of absorbing funds and the interest income of loans and investment income, thus forming bank profits. Commercial banks have become "big businessmen" buying and selling "capital goods". Commercial banks realize financing between capital surplus and deficiency through the function of credit intermediary, without changing the ownership of monetary capital, but only the right to use it.

4. Payment intermediary

Commercial banks not only act as credit intermediaries and finance monetary funds, but also perform monetary management functions. Through the transfer of deposits in the account, you can pay on behalf of customers, pay cash for customers on the basis of deposits, and become the currency keeper, cashier and payment agent of industrial and commercial enterprises, groups and individuals.

Taking commercial banks as the center, a payment chain and the relationship between creditor's rights and debts with no beginning and no end are formed in the economic process.

5. Financial services

With the development of economy, the business environment of industrial and commercial enterprises is becoming more and more complicated, and the business competition between banks is becoming more and more fierce. Because of extensive contacts and well-informed information, especially the wide application of computers in banking business, banks have the conditions to provide information services to customers, consulting services, decision support services for enterprises and other services came into being. The development of specialized production and circulation in industrial and commercial enterprises requires that many money businesses originally belonging to enterprises be transferred to banks.

Personal consumption has also developed from simple money and goods transactions to transfer settlement. Modern social life puts forward many requirements for financial services of commercial banks.

Under the strong impetus of business competition, commercial banks are also constantly exploring service areas, further promoting the expansion of asset-liability business by developing financial business, and combining asset-liability business with financial services to open up new business areas. In modern economic life, financial services have become an important function of commercial banks.

Legal basis:

People's Republic of China (PRC) Commercial Bank Law

Article 3 A commercial bank may engage in some or all of the following businesses:

(1) Absorbing public deposits;

(2) Short-term, medium-term and long-term loans;

(3) Handling domestic and international settlement;

(4) Handling bill acceptance and discount;

(5) Issuing financial bonds.

(6) Acting as an agent to issue, honor and underwrite government bonds;

(7) buying and selling government bonds and financial bonds;

(eight) engaged in interbank lending;

(9) Acting as an agent for buying and selling foreign exchange;

(ten) engaged in bank card business;

(eleven) to provide letter of credit services and guarantees;

(12) Agency payment and insurance agency business;

(thirteen) to provide safe deposit box services;

(14) Other businesses approved by the State Council Banking Regulatory Authority.

The business scope shall be stipulated in the articles of association of the commercial bank and reported to the the State Council Banking Regulatory Authority for approval. With the approval of the People's Bank of China, commercial banks can engage in foreign exchange settlement and sale business.