SECTION 1

Banks. History and Activities

1.1. Interpret words and word-combinations from column A hiding words from

column B. The columns should then be swapped.
A B
1) to borrow and lend money;
2) investment fund;
3) insurance services;
4) real estate services;
5) to provide loans;
6) transaction;
7) to pool risks;
8) to draw a check/cheque on bank; 8) выписать чек на банк;
9) current account;
10) checking account;
11) term deposit;
12) debt securities;
13) bond;
14) issue of banknotes;
15) promissory note;
16) payable to bearer;
17) bank draft;
18) instalment loan;
19) letter of credit;
20) guarantee;
21) performance bond;
22) safe deposit box;
23) currency exchange;
24) unit trust;
25) financial supermarket/
one-stop financial shop.
1) занимать и одалживать деньги;
2) инвестиционный фонд;
3) услуги страхования;
4) услуги по операциям с недвижимостью;
5) предоставлять кредит;
6) операция;
7) объединять риски;
9) текущий счет;
10) чековый счет;
11) срочный депозит;
12) долговые ценные бумаги;
13) облигация;
14) выпуск банкнот;
15) долговое обязательство, простой
вексель;
16) (с оплатой) на предъявителя;
17) тратта, выставленная банком на другой
банк;
18) ссуда/заём с погашением в рассрочку;
19) аккредитив;
20) гарантия, залог, поручительство;
21) гарантия исполнения обязательств;
22) сейф/ячейка для хранения ценностей;
23) обмен валюты;
24) паевой инвестиционный фонд;
25) финансовый супермаркет.

1.2. Derive as many words as possible from the words given below and suggest the
Russian equivalents to the derivatives.
1) bank
2) borrow

1.3. Compose two sentences in Russian with the words (original or derivative) from
ex. 1.2. Ask your partner to interpret the sentences into English.
1.4. Complete the sentences using the words from the box changing word-form where
necessary. Interpret the sentences into Russian.
pool (v.) bank (n.) bank (v.) security account
overdraft banker deposit (n.) transaction loan
borrow real estate lend insurance investment
1. She _______________ £2 000 from her parents.
2. The bank refused to ___________ the money to us.
3. Our _______________ are not doing well.
4. The _____ of England has the sole right in England and Wales of issuing
banknotes.
5. My brother dreams to become a broker, a __________ or a financier.
6. It is possible that he ___________ the money under another name.
7. The money is being kept on ______________.
8. When her husband died, she received £50 000 in ______________.
9. My father sold ________________.
10. It took three years to repay my student ________.
11. ________________ is a piece of business that is done between people,
especially an act of buying or selling.
12. A ___________ investment allows an individual to invest in a large portfolio
of assets with many other investors.
13. I paid the cheque into my savings _____________.
14. An _____________ occurs when withdrawals from a bank account exceed the
available balance which gives the account a negative balance.
15. Commercial enterprises have traditionally used ___________ as a means of
raising new capital.

1.5. Read the text. Underline keywords in each paragraph.

History
1 A bank is a financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment
agent for customers and to borrow and lend money.
2 The first modern bank was founded in Italy in Genoa in 1406, its name was
Banco di San Giorgio (Bank of St. George).
3 Many other financial activities were added over time. For example, banks are
important players in financial markets and offer financial services such as investment
funds. In some countries such as Germany, banks are the primary owners of industrial
corporations while in other countries such as the United States banks are prohibited
from owning non-financial companies. In France “Bancassurance” is highly present, as
most banks offer insurance services (and now real estate services) to their clients.
4 Banks have influenced economies and politics for centuries. Historically, the
primary purpose of a bank was to provide loans to trading companies. Banks provided
funds to allow businesses to purchase inventory, and collected those funds back with
interest when the goods were sold. For centuries, the banking industry only dealt with
businesses, not consumers. Banking services have expanded to include services directed
at individuals, and risk in these much smaller transactions are pooled.
 5 The name bank derives from the Italian word banco “desk/bench”, used during
the Renaissance by Florentine bankers, who used to make their transactions above a
desk covered by a green tablecloth. However, there are traces of banking activity even
in ancient times.
Traditional banking activities
6 Banks act as payment agents by conducting checking or current accounts for
customers, paying cheques drawn by customers on the bank, and collecting cheques
deposited to customers’ current accounts. Banks also enable customer payments via
other payment methods such as telegraphic transfer, EFTPOS, and ATM.
7 Banks borrow money by accepting funds deposited on current account,
accepting term deposits and by issuing debt securities such as banknotes and bonds.
Banks lend money by making advances to customers on current account, by making
instalment loans, and by investing in marketable debt securities and other forms of
money lending.
8 Banks provide almost all payment services, and a bank account is considered
indispensable by most businesses, individuals and governments. Non-banks that provide
payment services such as remittance companies are not normally considered an
adequate substitute for having a bank account.
9 Banks borrow most funds from households and non-financial businesses, and
lend most funds to households and non-financial businesses, but non-bank lenders
provide a significant and in many cases adequate substitute for bank loans, and money
market funds, cash management trusts and other non-bank financial institutions in many
cases provide an adequate substitute to banks for lending savings to.
10 In fact, the word traces its origins back to the Ancient Roman Empire, where
moneylenders would set up their stalls in the middle of enclosed courtyards called
macella on a long bench called a bancu, from which the words banco and bank are
derived. As a moneychanger, the merchant at the bancu did not so much invest money
as merely convert the foreign currency into the only legal tender in Rome – that of the
Imperial Mint.
Wider commercial role
11 However the commercial role of banks is wider than banking, and includes:
 issue of banknotes (promissory notes issued by a banker and payable to bearer
on demand);
 processing of payments by way of telegraphic transfer, EFTPOS, internet
banking or other means;
 issuing bank drafts and bank cheques;
 accepting money on term deposit;
 lending money by way of overdraft, instalment loan or otherwise;
 providing documentary and standby letters of credit (trade finance),
guarantees, performance bonds, securities underwriting commitments and other forms
of off-balance sheet exposures;
 safekeeping of documents and other items in safe deposit boxes;
 currency exchange;
  sale, distribution or brokerage, with or without advice, of insurance, unit
trusts and similar financial products as a “financial supermarket”.

1.6. Provide a 5-sentence summary of the text from ex. 1.5 in English.

1.7. Provide interpretation of paragraphs 1-3 of the text from ex. 1.5 into Russian.

1.8. Translate paragraph 4 of the text from ex. 1.5 into Russian.

1.9. Swap the workbooks with your partner and perform back interpretation of
ex. 1.8.

1.10. Listen to your partner reading out paragraphs 6-10 of the text from ex. 1.5 and
perform interpretation into Russian.

1.11. Listen to your teacher reading out paragraph 11 of the text from ex. 1.5 and put
down your translation in Russian. Swap the workbooks with your partner and correct
any mistakes you find.

1.12. Make a ten-sentence summary of the text in Russian.

1.13. Interpret the article into English.

Трапезиты – это про деньги, а не про еду
Древние греки переняли финансовые отношения с Востока, с которым
много торговали и воевали, но внесли много инноваций. Фактически, именно
древние греки, в первую очередь – афиняне, создали банкинг как регулярное
занятие и отрасль экономики. Банкиры назывались трапезитами – от «трапеза»,
что означает стол, за которым работали древнегреческие финансисты. Изначально
трапезиты занимались обменом денег, так как ходило много различных валют, и
при торговых сделках нужно было рассчитываться в актуальной для данной
местности. Трапезиты брали комиссию, на уровне 5-6%, хотя есть данные и про
10%, и даже 25% от суммы. Стремясь удовлетворить запросы клиентов, менялы
осуществляли денежные переводы, принимали депозиты и выдавали кредиты.
Отрасль процветала, например, отец знаменитого греческого оратора
Демосфена держал вклады в нескольких банках в объёме 3 тыс. драхм. Депозиты
не всегда делались с целью приращения денег, чаще – как средство хранения и
сокрытия сокровищ от налогов. Вклады были как до востребования, так и с
фиксированным сроком. Первые ссылки на деятельность трапезитов относятся к
IV в. до н. э. Была интересная практика, когда должник делал вклад в трапезе,
после чего объявлял о переходе права собственности на деньги кредитору, в его
присутствии и при трапезите.
С конца V в. до н. э. приём депозитов и выдача на их основе кредитов стали
основной экономической функцией первых греческих банков-трапез. Депозиты
принимались под 10%, ссуды выдавались под более высокий процент – от 10% до
33%.
 Благодаря раскопкам Делосского храма стала известна система хранения
денежных средств. Она условно названа «экономикой горшков». Запасы были
уложены в горшки в четыре ряда. Каждый ряд обозначался буквой от А до Ω.
Дальнейшая нумерация получалась удвоением букв, например, АА, ААА и т. д.
Конечно, можно было упростить задачу и вместо набора одинаковых букв в
инвентарный номер ввести цифры, но цифры у греков обозначались также
буквами алфавита. Так что символы можно считать инвентарными номерами. На
каждом горшке значилось: сумма вложения, источник и дата поступления. Общая
сумма вкладов по ряду А должна была составлять 76 278 драхм, а в целом резерв
определяется в 100 тыс. драхм. Для хранения вкладов применялись и контейнеры
из разнообразного материала. Изображение на одной античной вазе позволяет
предполагать наличие несгораемых сейфов. С течением времени возник перевод
денег между счетами разных вкладчиков.
В IV в. до н. э. 18% считалось вполне стандартной ставкой по ссудам. Заём
обеспечивался поручительством, залогом имущества и, реже, земли. Заём
выдавался минимум двум лицам, под солидарную ответственность. Один из
заёмщиков всегда должен был находиться на месте, чтобы с него можно было
взыскать задолженность по ссуде.
Пользовалась популярностью «морская ссуда», это были длинные, но не
очень дешёвые деньги, так как в комиссии были учтены все возможные риски
морских торговых экспедиций. Сделки осуществлялись под 22,5-30%. Торговые
путешествия по морю совершались не менее двух раз в год, прибыль в 100%
годовых от морских ссуд не была редкостью.
Каменные столбики на границах земельного участка, служившего
залоговым обеспечением по займу, назывались ипотека. На столбиках высекали
надписи с указанием заложенного имущества, имени кредитора и суммы долга
или иного имущественного обязательства.
Принцип и практика ипотечного залога, отработанные в афинском праве,
перекочевали затем в римское право и правовые системы средневековой Европы.
(https://journal.open-broker.ru/history/bankovskoe-delo-v-drevnej-grecii-i-rime/)

1.14.  Interpret the video-extract into Russian: “How did banks develop? A short
history of the banking industry” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTydHbnzpCI).

1.15.  Interpret the video-extract into English: “История появления банков. Кратко”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxM8GZD7g-Q&t=45s).
 Trapezits. It’s all about money, not food
The ancient Greeks took over financial relations with the Orient, where they traded and
fought, but at the same time the ancient Greek implemented many innovations there. In
fact, it was the ancient Greeks, primarily the Athenians, who created banking as a
regular occupation and branch of the economy. The bankers were called trapezits - from
the Greek word, meaning the table at which the ancient Greek financiers worked.
Initially, the trapezits were engaged in the exchange of money, since there were many
different currencies, and it was necessary to pay during trade transactions with the
currency which was actual for the certain location. The trapezits took a commission, at
the level of 5-6%, although there are data about 10%, and even 25% of the amount. In
an effort to satisfy the needs of customers, money changers made money transfers,
accepted deposits and issued loans.
The industry flourished, for example, the father of the famous Greek speaker
Demosthenes held deposits in several banks in the amount of 3 thousand. Drachmas.
Deposits were not always made for the purpose of increasing money, more often as a
means of storing and hiding treasures from taxes. Deposits were both on demand and
with a fixed term. The first references to the activities of the trapezits refer to the IV
century. BC. e. There was an interesting practice when the debtor made a contribution
to the meal, after which he announced the transfer of ownership of the money to the
creditor, in his presence and in the presence of trapezit.
From the late V century. BC. e. acceptance of deposits and issuance of loans on their
basis became the main economic function of the first Greek refectory banks. Deposits
were accepted at 10%, loans were issued at a higher interest rate - from 10% to 33%