Bank Fundamentals: An Introduction to the World of Finance and Banking

There is something big happening in the world of finance that impacts our economies and welfare. Most of us do not realize the extent of what’s going on. But it’s not so complicated: Finance is not rocket science. After working in finance from 1990, I train people who work in de finance industry and specialized so as to explain ‘complex’ finance since 2005.
Starting in the '80s, banks have become huge financial supermarkets offering a wide range of different services and products. Employees in these large banks have developed specialized expertise in the area in which they decide to make a career. Along with rapid developments in information technology this has resulted in large IT departments staffed by people without any particular financial and banking knowledge.
You may like banks or not, but banks have been and still are very important to our modern society as key intermediators in the facilitation of economic development. The global financial crisis of 2008 became a turning point in the banking industry. We use banks almost every day, for example to make payments. But what do you really know about banks? How was it possible that banks caused a major financial and economic crisis?
In Part (I) I will explain the core activities of banks. In Part (II) I will introduce you to the standard bank types, explain the root of the 2008 global financial crisis and the Basel Agreements that is now the basis of Central Bank regulation.
After reading this booklet you will understand the fundamentals of the banking industry. Also it supports participants of my other training programmes and workshops.