Banking: HOBS
Abbreviations
First and second conditional II
Banking involves:
 Saving money or trusting your money to a
financial institution (a bank) so that your
money is safeguarded
 Providing loans, credit, and payment
services such as checking accounts
 The possibility of investment and insurance
 Most frequently banks are used for opening
savings accounts.
 Other possibilities offer checking accounts and
online banking
Savings accounts:
 This account allows you to deposit money in the
bank and earn interest on that money over the
course of time.
 There are different types of savings accounts
available and each depends on the amount of
money you will be depositing, whether or not
you want easy access to your funds and how
long you want to keep your money in your
account. Some of the types of savings accounts
are:
Bank savings account: It is good for
short term or long term savings. Money is
deposited in an account and interest is
earned on that account. Money can be
withdrawn from these accounts as well.
There may be a minimum balance, which
means the depositor is slapped with a
penalty for going under the minimum
balance.
Certificate of deposit (CD): when you
deposit money into this account, it’s meant
to stay in that account for a certain period
of time. Depending on the account you
choose, this can be anywhere from one
month to five years. If money is withdrawn
within that amount of time, you will be
penalized.
Checking accounts:
 If you need to pay bills, the last thing you want to
do is send cash through the mail. Purchasing a
money order for each transaction is not only
inconvenient, it’s expensive. Your best bet is to
open a checking account. A checking
account is similar to a bank savings account
in that money is deposited into your account
and if you fall below a certain limit you’re
penalized. The purpose of a checking account
is, of course, to write checks.
You may write checks only for the amount
of money in your checking account or less.
If you’re overdrawn on your checking
account, the check will “bounce” or be
returned due to insufficient funds. Not only
will you have to pay a bank charge for a
bounced check, but you’ll probably incur
fees on behalf of the company that
received the bounced check.
Online banking:
 Thanks to the wonders of technology, banking
can now be done over the Internet. With online
banking, you can pay bills, deposit or
transfer funds, order checks and take care of
other banking responsibilities. The benefit of
this, of course, is that banking can be done from
the comfort of your own home or office.
 With online banking, checks are automatically
sent to the other part’s account, saving on
postage and other checking fees.
 Money can be transferred between accounts
with the simple click of a mouse, and thanks to
service such as Pay Pal, people can even
receive payments via e-mail. Benefits of online
banking are many. Be sure to research any bank
charges that might be incurred as a result of
online banking. If it’s too expensive, you may
well stick to manual banking.
 If you’re looking to open a savings or checking
account or take advantage of online banking,
research the banks in your area. See which one
has the terms, interest rates and customer
service that best suits your lifestyle.
Types of banks:
 There are several types of banks, which differ
in the number of services they provide and the
clientele they serve.
 Commercial banks, which dominate this
industry, offer a full range of services for
individuals, businesses, and governments.
These banks come in a wide range of sizes,
from large global banks to regional and
community banks.
 Global banks are involved in international
lending and foreign currency trading, in addition
to the more typical banking services.
 Regional banks have numerous branches and
automated teller machines (ATM) locations
throughout a multi-state area that provide
banking services to individuals.
 Banks have become more oriented toward
marketing and sales. As a result, employees
need to know about all types of products and
services offered by banks.
 Community banks are based locally and offer
more personal attention, which many individuals
and small businesses prefer.
Savings banks and savings and loan
associations, sometimes called thrift
institutions, are the second largest group
of depository institutions. They were first
established as communtity-based
institutions to finance mortgages for
people to buy homes and still cater mostly
to the savings and lending needs of
individuals.
Credit unions are another kind of
depository institution. Most credit unions
are formed by people with a common
bond, such as those who work for the
same company or belong to the same
labour union or church. Members pool
their savings and, when they need money,
they may borrow from the credit union,
often at a lower interest rate than that
demanded by other financial institutions.
 Federal Reserve banks are Government
agencies that perform many financial services
for the Government. Their chief responsibilities
are to regulate the banking industry and to help
implement monetary policy so the economy can
run more efficiently. Federal Reserve banks also
perform a variety of services for other banks.
For example, they may make emergency loans
to banks that are short of cash, and clear checks
that are drawn and paid out of different banks.
How do banks earn money?
Interest on loans is the principal source of
revenue (earning) for most banks. The
commercial lending department loans
money to companies to start or expand a
business. This department handles
student loans, credit cards, and loans for
home improvements and automobile
purchases. Finally, the mortgage lending
department loans money to individuals
and purchases to buy real estate.
Technology is having a major impact on
the banking industry:
 For example, many routine bank services that
once required a teller, such as making a
withdrawal or deposit, are now available
through ATMs that allow people to access their
accounts 24 hours a day. Also, direct deposit
allows companies and governments to
electronically transfer payments into various
accounts.
 Further, debit cards, which are also used as ATM
cards, instantaneously deduct money from an
account when the card is swiped across a
machine at a store’s cash register.
 Advancements in technology have also led to
improvements in the way in which banks
process information. Use of check imaging,
which allows banks to store photographed
checks on the computer, is one such example
that has been implemented by some banks.
 Many banks now offer their customers financial
planning and insurance services often through a
subsidiary or a third party.
Others are beginning to provide
investment banking services that help
companies and governments raise money
through the insurance of stocks and
bonds, also usually through a subsidiary.
HOBS (Home and Office Banking
Service)
HOBS is the oldest online banking service,
having started out in 1985 by beaming
account data down the telephone line to a
television monitor, TV banking is the
earliest form.
The modern PC HOBS lets you view a
large range of services online, from
current and savings accounts to currency
accounts, mortgages and credit cards.
Abbreviations
First and second conditional II
Here are some abbreviations which are often
used in the business world. Match them with
their meanings:












VAT
IOU
AOB
i.e.
MD
PAYE
Ltd
AGM
CEO
p.a.
SFr
plc
asap
Corp
GMT
e.g.
N/A
a.m.


















exempli gratia (for example)
value added tax
pay as you earn
chief executive officer
as soon as possible
not available
limited
I owe you...
personal account
corporation
any other business
managing director
Societe Francaise de Radiotelephonie
greenwich mean time
public limited company
annual general meeting
id est (that is)
ante meridiem
For each of the following sentences write both
first and second conditional situation. (use
the first person):
 If / lose / credit card / inform / the bank
immediately.
 If / need some money / ask / the bank manager
for a loan.
 If / find / mistakes on my bank statement /
change / to a different bank.
 If /earn / more money / be able to / save more.
 If / order / chequebook / get / it before the end of
the week?
Put the verbs in brackets into the correct
tense (you have to decide between first and
second conditional):
1)
2)
3)
4)
If we had more rain our crops (grow) faster.
If I (know) his address I’d give it to you.
If he (read) in bad light he will ruin his eyes.
If you (paint) the walls white the room would be
much brighter.
5) She will be absolutely furious if she (hear)
about this.
6) I wouldn’t drink that wine if I (be) you.
7) Unless he (sell) more he won’t get much
commission.