Elements of Banking [antikvár]

Preface This book provides a sound background in all the elementary principles of banking. The whole range of banking services is covered - savings, lending, investment and more sophisticated functions - and there is a historical section recounting the development of banking from its earliest days to the present. While the book is specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Institute of Bankers' Banking Certificate and Foundation Courses, and the BTEC National Certificate in Business and Finance, the authors hope it will meet the introductory needs of students in the wider fields of accountancy, business administration, management, and so on. At the end of the main text there is a large section of rapid revision exercises, in question and answer form. The student covers the page with a sheet of blank paper and lowers it sufficiently to reveal the first question. After attempting to answer it the paper is lowered to reveal the author's idea of a good answer, and the second question. We hope students will find this format helpful for revision purposes. Banking is highly compétitive at present, with innovations appearing almost weekly, and shortage of space makes a full account difficult in some cases. We apologize to some innovators who may feel the references to developments are too brief. In writing this book we have inevitably come up against the problem of sexism; the English language not having been modified to overcome the use of words like 'him' and 'her'. There is no discrimination in banking, and we follow the légal rule that where a male word is used it also means the female word and vice versa (Interprétation Act 1978). We hope readers who are sensitive on this point will accept our apologies, but the endless use of 'him' or 'her' becomes tiresome in a book of this sort. In writing this book we have received much help from various individuals and institutions who have supplied data, and permitted the use of illustrations. These are acknowledged elsewhere in the book, but we must em-phasize to the reader that the courtesy of these institutions in no way suggests that the text is sponsored by them. We must take full responsibility for all the statements made, and trust that we have done so without giving any offence. Julia Hoyle Geoffrey Whitehead