MSG Team's other articles

10740 Problems Related to Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram Mega Merger

In the previous article, we talked about Facebook’s plan of becoming a social media conglomerate by merging different apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. We also spoke about the enormous economic benefits that Facebook as a corporation will derive from the merger of these diverse apps. However, for the moment, it does not seem like […]

11901 Understanding Tax Terminology: Tax Rates

In the previous article, we discussed about how tax base calculations work. However, tax base calculations are just one part of the story. The other part of the calculation is the tax rate. Tax base and tax rate are multiplied to arrive at the tax amount owed by the organization. In this article, we will […]

10280 Margin Mechanism in Exchange Traded Derivatives

When it comes to exchange traded derivatives, one of the first things that need to be understood is the margin mechanism. Since most people that use exchange traded derivatives also use leverage, this is the procedure that they have to follow. The process may seem to be complicated. However, it is one of the wonders […]

10981 Retail Inventory Method (RIM)

Inventory is a very important part of the retail business. This is because the stock which retail stores hold on their books is their most important asset. The quality of this asset allows them to generate higher profits as compared to their peers. Hence, the valuation of inventory which is held by the retailer is […]

12271 Advantages and Disadvantages of Variable Lease

In the previous article, we have already seen what a variable lease is and how it is different from traditional leases which are used by retail companies across the world. We are now also aware of the manner in which variable leases are structured. We know that the popularity of variable leases has been rapidly […]

Search with tags

  • No tags available.

Commercial banking has traditionally been the backbone of banking. Banking was created to funnel idle resources in households to productive purposes in business. Over the long period of time that banking has been in existence, the nature of products provided to commercial customers has undergone a huge change. Several new types of products have been introduced in response to the changing demand in the marketplace and certain old products have become obsolete. In this article we have listed down the products that are currently offered by banks to their commercial customers.

Industrial Loans

The primary business of commercial banks is to make loans to large industrial corporations. Corporations in any nation are interested in obtaining debt at favorable terms. The bank is in a position to fulfill this demand through the services that they offer.

Although with the evolution of the debt market, the idea of banks as the principal source of debt has become outdated as far as mega corporations are concerned. Mega corporations are in a position to raise funds directly from the markets. This proves cheaper since they do not have to pay an intermediary i.e. the banks.

Therefore in the past century or so, banks have seen their primary business declining. To combat this decline, they have created special teams which provide capital market services and assist clients in issuing their debt securities. Banks have centuries of experience regarding dealing in debt markets and hence are in a position to provide their expertise for a fee. Therefore debt market advisory has become one of the major products that banks sell to mega corporations.

Project Finance

Project finance is one type of loan for which mega corporations largely rely on banks till date. In case of project finance, the banker finances the project as an individual entity. The parent company that is sponsoring the project has a limited liability in case the loan goes bad. For instance, if bank funds DEF project that was initiated by ABC Corporation and the project goes bankrupt over time.

In this case, banks only have access to the assets owned by DEF project. ABC Corporation does not have to assume any liability for the losses the bank incurred while financing the project. The project is treated as a separate entity in its own right.

Syndicated Loans

Banks often times combine to make huge syndicated loans to corporations. This is because the debt requirements of a particular corporation, let’s say, General Electric may be so huge that any single bank may not be in a position to fulfill them without creating a significant risk on their books. Hence, in such cases, several banks have to form a syndicate to fulfill the loan requirement.

One bank may play a lead role in coordinating with other banks and making the funds available to the corporation. Hence, this bank would be called the “lead financier” and would be entitled to a special fee over and above the regular interest that is earned on the loan. Also, the corporation will service the loan i.e. pay the payments to this bank only. It is the lead arranger that will have to create a mechanism to redistribute the monthly payments to the other banks proportionately.

Leasing

With the advent of off balance sheet financing, a lot of companies have started using leasing as a financing method. This is because it provides control of the said asset without leveraging the balance sheet of the given corporation. Banks have become heavily involved in the business of such financial leases. Financial leases are being signed by companies for acquiring real estate, automobiles, factory equipment or such other major fixed assets. It needs to be noted that banks usually only fund financial leases and not pure play operational leases.

Foreign Trade Financing

A lot of the corporations in the world today are multi-nationals. Thus their business interests cross national borders. This means that foreign trade in rampant and has become the norm. Now, foreign trade has some special financing needs. Banks have traditionally specialized in such financing. In the modern world too, banks provide letters of credit, export financing, bank guarantees and other such services to corporations which help them conduct foreign trade in an efficient manner.

Bills of Exchange

Companies often use bills of exchange for accounts receivables and accounts payables purposes. For instance if company A agrees to pay company B at a later date, they could sign a bill of exchange for the same. Company A can then take this bill of exchange to the bank at get the bill discounted.

This means that the bank will take over the right to collect receivables from B. They will do so by purchasing the bill at a discount. This means that they will pay company A, a discounted amount for the bill. The difference between the face value of the bill and the discounted price for which the bank bought it is considered to be the interest earned by the bank.

Bills discounting is an important service provided by banks to many commercial corporations. This service helps them streamline their accounts receivable processes.

The list provided above is not exhaustive. Banks provide many more services to their commercial customers. For customers that offer a sizeable chunk of business banks may even customize or create new products to meet their requirements.

Article Written by

MSG Team

An insightful writer passionate about sharing expertise, trends, and tips, dedicated to inspiring and informing readers through engaging and thoughtful content.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

China’s Predatory Lending

MSG Team

Why Should Central Banks Be Independent?

MSG Team

Central Banking in the United States

MSG Team