BUSINESS BANKING

A company's financial dealings with an institution that provides business loans, credit, savings and checking accounts specifically for companies and not for individuals. Business banking is also known as commercial banking and occurs when a bank, or division of a bank, only deals with businesses. A bank that deals mainly with individuals is generally called a retail bank, while a bank that deals with capital markets is known as an investment bank.

In the past, investment banks and retail/commercial banks had to be separate entities, under the Glass Steagall Act, but now a single bank can deal with business banking, retail banking and investment banking. The Glass-Steagall Act is also known as the Banking Act of 1933, and was introduced to manage speculation. Parts of the act were repealed in 1999, making it no longer illegal for an investment bank to also engage in business/commercial and retail banking.