Учебно-методическое пособие по обучению профессиональному общению. Коровина Н.А - 37 стр.

bonds. They also generally offer stockbroking and portfolio manage-         banks also do Eurocurrency business – lending foreign currencies,
ment services to rich corporate and individual clients. Investment          notably dollars, at lower rates than in the currencies' home countries.
banks in the USA are similar, but they can only act as intermediaries
offering advisory services, and do not offer loans themselves. Invest-            Second summary:
ment banks make their profits from the fees and commissions they                  Commercial banks receive deposits and make loans. Merchant
charge for their services.                                                  and investment banks arrange security issues and offer other invest-
       3 .........................................................          ment services. Yet the traditional distinction between commercial and
       In the USA, the Glass-Steagall Act of 1934 enforced a strict         investment banks is now breaking down. Domestic interest rates are
separation between commercial banks and investment banks or stock-          fixed by central banks. Many banks also have branches abroad that do
broking firms. Yet the distinction between commercial and investment        Eurocurrency business, making loans in other European currencies.
banking has become less clear in recent years. In some European
countries (notably Germany, Austria and Switzerland) there have al-                Third summary:
ways been universal banks combining deposit and loan banking with                  Commercial banks receive deposits, lend money, and provide
share and bond dealing and investment services.                             other services. Merchant and investment banks lend money to indus-
       4 .........................................................          try. British and American banks are now joining together in conglom-
       A country's minimum interest rate is usually fixed by the central    erates. The interest rates that banks charge depend on the borrowers'
bank. This is the discount rate, at which the central bank makes se-        creditworthiness. European banks also do a lot of Eurodollar and pet-
cured loans to commercial banks. Banks lend to blue chip borrowers          rodollar business.
(very safe large companies) at the base rate or the prime rate; all other
borrowers pay more, depending on their credit standing (or credit rat-             II. Find the words or expressions in the text, which mean the
ing, or creditworthiness): the lender's estimation of their present and     following:
future solvency. Borrowers can usually get a lower interest rate if the            1. to place money in a bank; or money placed in a bank
loan is secured or guaranteed by some kind of asset, known as collat-              2. the money used in countries other than one's own
eral.                                                                              3. how much money a loan pays, expressed as a percentage
                                                                                   4. available cash, and how easily other assets can be turned into
      TASKS                                                                 cash
                                                                                   5. the date when a loan becomes repayable
      I. Which of the following three paragraphs most accurately and
                                                                                   6. to guarantee to buy all the new shares that a company issues,
concisely summarizes the text, and what is wrong with the others?
                                                                            if they cannot be sold to the public
                                                                                   7. when a company buys or acquires another one
      First summary:
                                                                                   8. when a company combines with another one
      Commercial banks hold customers' deposits and make loans. In-
                                                                                   9. buying and selling stocks or shares for clients
vestment banks raise funds for industry. Deregulation in Britain and
                                                                                  10. taking care of all a client's investments
the US is leading to the creation of financial conglomerates similar to
                                                                                  11. the ending or relaxing of legal restrictions
the universal banks that have always existed in German-speaking
                                                                                  12. a group of companies, operating in different fields, that have
countries. A country's minimum interest rate is usually fixed; banks
                                                                            joined together
charge progressively higher rates to less secure borrowers. Many
                                                                                  13. a company considered to be without risk

                                   73                                                                         74