职通商务英语(第三版)综合教程1 Unit 7-1

2 E-banking 4 Financial management 6 Credit card services
Introductory Remarks
The business of banking can be broadly defined as wise management and circulation of all kinds of money in the best interest of every unit of money. Today, a bank is a financial intermediary that offers a wide range of services to meet their customers’ financial needs. Two fundamental banking services are accepting deposits and making loans. Other services include payment services; deposit and lending services; investment, pensions and insurance services and e-banking.
Warming-up Discussion
Before you read, work in pairs and discuss these questions. (1) What do you know about banking services? (2) What role do you think banking plays in our lives?
Banking also includes a great variety of additional products and services that meet customers’ financial needs. A few of these products and services include investment products, pensions and insurance services, and foreign exchange services.
Today, our personal and business affairs could not be transacted without the money medium — the banking system. The business of banking can be broadly defined as wise management and circulation of all kinds of money.(3) Customers turn to banks to borrow money to achieve goals, to prevent losses, to facilitate returns on idle funds, and to manage funds conveniently and effectively.(4) Banks also offer a wide range of additional services.
• Payment services; • Deposit and lending services; • Investment, pensions and insurance services; • E-banking.
Intensive Reading
Banks play a major role in the provision of payment services. For personal customers the main types of payments are made by writing cheques from their current accounts (known as “checking accounts” in the United States) or via debit or credit card payments.(6) In most countries the retail payments systems are owned and run by the main banks.
Intensive Reading
The Fixed Deposit Account, receiving interest, must remain with the bank for a stipulated time, as specified on the deposit receipt issued.(9) Loans and other credit services are important services offered by banks to their customers. There are two major categories of loans: business and consumer.(10) Loans can be secured or unsecured. A secured loan is one in which an asset, such as inventory or property, is pledged against repayment of the loan.(11)
While banks play an important role in financial intermediation, banking’s primary focus is the satisfaction of customers’ financial needs. Modern banks offer a wide range of financial services, includinf banks.
Lead-in
1 The People’s Bank of China
3 China Minsheng Banking Corp., Ltd
5 HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation)
Keys
Intensive Reading
The Business of Banking
A bank is a financial intermediary that acts as the go-between for individuals and businesses that have extra money and those that wish to borrow money by offering loans and deposits, and payment services.(1) The term “financial intermediation” means accepting funds from one source (such as savings customers) and using the money to make loans or other investment. By doing so, banks help make money with each set of transactions.(2)
Intensive Reading
Banking has been changing rapidly worldwide. A number of innovative financial products have been developed in recent years and banking services have become available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.(12) The banking system processes more and more electronic transactions to make payments and transfer funds, and customers’ use of electronic banking services continues to grow each year. With the growth of ebusiness, traditional corporate relationships outside the banking industry are changing rapidly. New business-tobusiness (B2B) relationships are forcing global banks to consider ways of changing their wholesale banking operations so as to embrace many of these developments.(13)
2 Bank of Communications 4 Citibank 6 Agricultural Bank of China
Lead-in Task 2: Discuss the banking services .
1 Deposit services 3 International settlement 5 Mortgage
◎ Comprehensive Tasks
Intensive Reading
Read the text and finish the tasks that follow. (1) How can the term “business of banking” be broadly defined? (2) What are two fundamental functions of banks? (3) List some services banks offer to their customers. (4) Explain the differences between the current account and the fixed deposit account. (5) What do the electronic banking services include?
Intensive Reading
Although banking covers a large number of different operations, the main functions are not difficult to understand. Two fundamental functions, known to every layman, are accepting deposits and making loans.(5)
In addition to payment services, personal banking includes the offer of a broad range of deposit and lending services.(7) There are two types of deposits, namely, the Current Account and the Fixed Deposit Account.(8) Current accounts typically pay no (or low) rates of interest and are used mainly for payments.
Career Express Business English （Third Edition）
Comprehensive Course 1
Unit 7 Banking
CONTENT
Lead-in Tasks Introductory Remarks Warming-up Discussion Intensive Reading Practice