In
banking
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
, the term national bank carries several meanings:
* a bank owned by the
state
* an ordinary private bank which operates nationally (as opposed to regionally or locally or even internationally)
* in the United States, an ordinary private bank operating within a specific regulatory structure, which may or may not operate nationally, under the supervision of the
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all nation ...
.
In the past, the term "national bank" has been used synonymously with "
central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union,
and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...
", but it is no longer used in this sense today. Some central banks may have the words "National Bank" in their name; conversely if a bank is named in this way, it is not automatically considered a central bank. For example,
National Bank of Canada
The National Bank of Canada (french: Banque Nationale du Canada) is the sixth largest commercial bank in Canada. It is headquartered in Montreal, and has branches in most Canadian provinces and 2.4 million personal clients. National Bank is the ...
of Montreal, Canada, is a privately owned commercial bank. On the other hand,
National Bank of Ethiopia is the central bank of
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
and
National Bank of Cambodia is the central bank of
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
.
By country
Afghanistan
Pashtany Bank
Pashtany Bank is the firm controlled by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan that controls the Central Bank of Afghanistan, the Afghan national insurance company and Ariana Afghan Airlines. It was established in 1954 to manage the Da Afghanistan ...
is the government-owned bank in based in
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
that controls
Da Afghanistan Bank
(DAB, ps, د افغانستان بانک; prs, بانک مرکزی افغانستان) is the central bank of Afghanistan. It regulates all banking and money handling operations in Afghanistan. The bank currently has 46 branches throughout the ...
as well as the Afghan National Bank.
Argentina
Argentina's national bank is the
Banco de la Nación Argentina
Banco de la Nación Argentina ( en, Bank of the Argentine Nation) is a national bank in Argentina, and the largest in the country's banking sector.
History
The Bank of the Argentine Nation was founded on 18 October 1891 by President Carlos Pel ...
, founded in 1891.
Australia
The
Commonwealth Bank of Australia was founded by an
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
in 1911. Bank
Nationalisation
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
was the policy of the
Andrew Fisher Labor Government. In a rare move for the time, the bank was to have both savings and general bank business. The bank was also the first bank in Australia to receive a Federal Government guarantee.
In 1958 and 1959, there was a controversy concerning the dual function of the bank as the central bank on the one hand and a general bank on the other. As a result of this, the bank was split, giving the reserve bank function to the
Reserve Bank of Australia and the general bank function to the Commonwealth Banking Corporation.
The Commonwealth bank was
privatised in the 1990s by the
Keating Labor government. As of 2016, it is one of the big four banks, along with the
National Australia Bank
National Australia Bank (abbreviated NAB, branded nab) is one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia (colloquially referred to as "The Big Four") in terms of market capitalisation, earnings and customers. NAB was ranked 21st-la ...
which has always been privately owned.
Bulgaria
Bulgarian National Bank is the central bank of Bulgaria, founded in 1879 and it is the 13 oldest central bank in the world.
Canada
For
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
's central bank see
Bank of Canada
The Bank of Canada (BoC; french: Banque du Canada) is a Crown corporation and Canada's central bank. Chartered in 1934 under the ''Bank of Canada Act'', it is responsible for formulating Canada's monetary policy,OECD. OECD Economic Surveys: Ca ...
. The
National Bank of Canada
The National Bank of Canada (french: Banque Nationale du Canada) is the sixth largest commercial bank in Canada. It is headquartered in Montreal, and has branches in most Canadian provinces and 2.4 million personal clients. National Bank is the ...
is a privately owned bank unrelated to the central bank.
Chile
The national bank in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
is
BancoEstado. It was created in 1953 by merging several state-owned financial institutions. The bank operates in competition with private banks but in addition to profitability its goals include having a positive social impact.
Colombia
The national bank in
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
is the
Bank of the Republic
The Bank of the Republic ( es, Banco de la República) is the central bank of Colombia. It was initially established under the regeneration era in 1880. Its main modern functions, under the new Colombian constitution were detailed by Congress ...
. Its primary role is to control the flow of money inside and outside the country and to issue the Colombian currency, the
peso
The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the Dollar sign, same sign, "$", as many currencies na ...
.
Denmark
Danmarks Nationalbank is the
central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union,
and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...
of the
Kingdom of Denmark
The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of Denmark, metropolitan ...
.
India
India's central bank is the
Reserve Bank of India
The Reserve Bank of India, chiefly known as RBI, is India's central bank and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is responsible for ...
.
There are 12
Public sector banks in which the majority stake is held by the Government of India. The largest of these by
market capitalisation
Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders.
Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by t ...
and
market share
Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those units would have a ...
is the
State Bank of India
State Bank of India (SBI) is an Indian multinational public sector bank and financial services statutory body headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. SBI is the 49th largest bank in the world by total assets and ranked 221st in the ''Fortune ...
.
Public Sector Banks (Government Shareholding %, as at end-June 2021)
#State Bank of India (55.0%)
#Bank of Baroda (64.0%)
#Canara Bank (69.33%)
#Punjab National Bank (73.1%)
#Indian Bank (78.86%)
#Union Bank of India (83.5%)
#Bank of India (81.41%)
#Central Bank of India (93.08%)
#Bank of Maharashtra (93.33%)
#UCO Bank (95.39%)
#Indian Overseas Bank (96.4%)
#Punjab and Sind Bank (98.07%)
Iran
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
's national bank is
Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Central Bank of Iran (CBI), also known as ''Bank Markazi'', officially the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, بانک مرکزی جمهوری اسلامی ايران, Bank Markazi-ye Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān; SWIFT Code: B ...
(CBI) ( fa, بانک مرکزی جمهوری اسلامی ايران, ''Bank Markazi Jomhouri Islami Iran'').
It was established in 1960.
National Bank of Iran
Bank Melli Iran (BMI; fa, بانک ملی ایران, lit=National Bank of Iran, ''Bânk-e Melli-ye Irân'') is the first national and commercial retail bank of Iran. It is considered as the largest Iranian company in terms of annual income with ...
is a large state commercial bank.
Kenya
National Bank of Kenya
National Bank of Kenya (NBK), also known as National Bank, is a commercial bank in Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Community. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the central bank, and national banking regulator. Effectiv ...
is a commercial bank founded in 1968. Its shares are listed on the
Nairobi Stock Exchange
The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) was established in 1954 as the Nairobi Stock Exchange, based in Nairobi the capital of Kenya. It was a voluntary association of stockbrokers in the European community registered under the Societies Act in ...
and are majority owned (70%) jointly by the
Government of Kenya
, image =
, caption = Coat of arms of Kenya
, date = 1963
, jurisdiction = Republic of Kenya
, url = http://www.mygov.go.ke/
, legislature = Parliament of Kenya
, meeting_place = ...
and by the state owned National Social Security Fund of Kenya.
New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
currently has one
state-owned
State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...
bank,
Kiwibank
Kiwibank Limited is a New Zealand state-owned bank and financial services provider with approximately 4% of market share in terms of assets. Kiwibank is owned by the New Zealand Government and provides some of its banking services through its ...
, established in 2001.
The New Zealand government formerly owned two other banks in New Zealand: The
Bank of New Zealand
Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) is one of New Zealand's Big Four (banking), big four banks and has been operating in the country since the first office was opened in Auckland in October 1861 followed shortly after by the first branch in Dunedin in D ...
, from 1945 to 1992 when it was privatised and sold, and
Post Office Savings Bank
Post Office Savings Bank is a name used by postal savings systems in several countries, including:
* New Zealand, later renamed the PostBank
* United Kingdom, later renamed the National Savings and Investments
* Singapore, later renamed POSB Bank
* ...
, which was created as a separate entity with the privatisation of
New Zealand Post
NZ Post ( mi, Tukurau Aotearoa), shortened from New Zealand Post, is a state-owned enterprise responsible for providing postal service in New Zealand.
The New Zealand Post Office, a government agency, provided postal, banking, and telecommunica ...
.
PostBank Postbank or Post bank may refer to:
Postal savings systems
(alphabetical by country)
* Bulgarian Postbank, a Bulgarian retail bank
* Chunghwa Post, a Taiwanese postal service that provides savings account services
* Deutsche Postbank, a German reta ...
was sold to
ANZ New Zealand
ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited (commonly referred to as ANZ) is a New Zealand banking and financial services company, which operates as a subsidiary of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited of Australia. ANZ is one of New Zealand's big f ...
in 1989.
The
National Bank of New Zealand
The National Bank of New Zealand Limited (NBNZ), often referred to as The National Bank, was one of New Zealand's largest banks. Throughout much of its history, the National Bank provided commercial banking services to mainly major industrial and ...
was a retail bank which, in 2003, was purchased by
ANZ
ANZ may refer to:
People
* Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician
Banks
* ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia
** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand
** ...
from its former owner,
Lloyds TSB
Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Lloyds Bank is the largest retail bank in Britain, and has an exten ...
. In 2013 it was rebranded as ANZ.
Pakistan
National Bank of Pakistan
National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) () is a Pakistani government-owned multinational commercial bank which is a subsidiary of State Bank of Pakistan. It is headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan. As of September 2020, it has 1,511 branches across Pakist ...
is a major bank in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.
Palestine
The National Bank TNB
The National Bank (TNB) is a financial institution in Palestine (region), Palestine. It was born out of the merger of Al Rafah Microfinance Bank and the Arab Palestinian Investment Bank whom never exited at all.
References
Banks of the ...
is the leading bank in
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
.
Serbia
National Bank of Serbia
The National Bank of Serbia ( sr, Народна банка Србије, Narodna banka Srbije) is the central bank of Serbia. Founded in 1884, the responsibilities of the bank are: monetary policy, sole issuer of Serbian banknotes and coins, p ...
is the state-owned central bank in
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
which regulates the currency
Serbian dinar
The dinar ( sr-Cyrl, динар, ; paucal: dinara / динара; Currency symbol, abbreviation: DIN (Gaj's Latin alphabet, Latin) and дин (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Cyrillic); ISO 4217, code: RSD) is the currency of Serbia. One dinar is subd ...
.
South Africa
First National Bank (South Africa) is a
commercial bank
A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit.
It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with cor ...
and is one of the "
Big Four Big Four or Big 4 may refer to:
Groups of companies
* Big Four accounting firms: Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, PwC
* Big Four (airlines) in the U.S. in the 20th century: American, Eastern, TWA, United
* Big Four (banking), several groupings ...
" banks in South Africa.
United States
In the United States, the term ''national bank'' originally referred to the
Revolutionary War–era
Bank of North America, its successor, the
First Bank of the United States
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
, or that institution's successor, the
Second Bank of the United States. The first survives as an acquisition of
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...
, while the others are defunct.
In the modern United States, the term ''national bank'' has a precise meaning: a banking institution chartered and supervised by the
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all nation ...
("OCC"), an agency in the
U.S. Treasury Department, pursuant to the
National Bank Act. Inclusion in the bank's name of the word ''National'', the designation ''National Association'', or its abbreviation ''N.A.'' is a required part of the distinguishing legal title of a national bank, as in "Farmers National Bank" or "
Citibank
Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City ...
, N.A." Many ''
state banks'', by contrast, are chartered by the applicable state government agencies (usually the state's department of banking). The
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is one of two agencies that supply deposit insurance to depositors in American depository institutions, the other being the National Credit Union Administration, which regulates and insures cred ...
(FDIC) insures deposits at both national and state banks.
The advantage of holding a National Bank Act charter is that a national bank is not subject to state
usury
Usury () is the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans that unfairly enrich the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is ch ...
laws intended to prevent predatory lending.
[''Beneficial National Bank v. Anderson'', .] (However, see also ''
Cuomo v. Clearing House Association, L. L. C.
''Cuomo v. Clearing House Association, L.L.C.'', 557 U.S. 519 (2009), was a case decided by the United States Supreme Court. In a 5–4 decision, the court determined that a federal banking regulation did not pre-empt the ability of states to en ...
'', stating that federal banking regulations do not preempt the ability of states to enforce their own fair-lending laws.)
There is currently no federal cap on rates. The federal government only requires that whatever rates, fees, or terms are set by issuers be disclosed to the consumer in accordance with the
Truth in Lending Act.
Notwithstanding the name, many national banks do not have nationwide operations. Many have operations in only one city, county, or state. This is because of the
McFadden Act
The McFadden Act is a United States federal law, named after Louis Thomas McFadden, member of the United States House of Representatives and Chairman of the United States House Committee on Banking and Currency, enacted in 1927 from recommendation ...
of 1927, which prohibited interstate branching by national banks.
That restriction was not lifted until Congress enacted the
. In August 2021,
Chase Bank became the first national bank to establish a retail presence in all 48
states of the
contiguous United States
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...
.
National banks should also be distinguished from ''federal savings associations'', including federal
savings and loans
A savings and loan association (S&L), or thrift institution, is a financial institution that specializes in accepting savings deposits and making mortgage and other loans. The terms "S&L" or "thrift" are mainly used in the United States; sim ...
and
federal savings banks, which are financial institutions chartered by the
Office of Thrift Supervision, an agency of the U.S. Treasury Department that was merged with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on 21 July 2012.
The
Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...
is the central bank of the United States; it is not a national bank but rather a unique system of institutions specially chartered by Congress to serve in this capacity.
References
External links
Alexander Hamilton: for the bank (February 23, 1791)
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Bank
Banks
Banking terms
Monetary reform
National institutions