Читать книгу Corporate Finance For Dummies - Michael Taillard - Страница 21

Anytime you give your money to someone with the expectation that the person will hold it for you and give it back when you request it, you’re either dealing with a depository institution or acting very foolishly. Depository institutions come in several different types, but they all function in the same basic manner:

 They accept your money and typically pay interest over time, though some accounts will provide other services to attract depositors in lieu of interest payments.

 While holding your money, they lend it out to other people or organizations in the form of mortgages or other loans and generate more interest than they pay you.

 When you want your money back, they have to give it back. Fortunately, they usually have enough deposits that they can give you back what you want. That’s not always true, as everyone saw during the Great Depression, but it’s almost always the case. Plus, safeguards are now in place to protect against another Great Depression in the future (at least one that occurs because banks lend out more money than they keep on hand to pay back to their lenders).

The three main types of depository institutions are commercial banks, savings institutions, and credit unions.