Bank finance articles and tips

Whether you are a small business owner, or a manager at a large corporation, the endless amount of data that is produced by your company can be overwhelming. All business owners and managers know that this data is vital to the success and health of their business, especially in today's global economy, however knowing what to do with this data isn't always easy....

Invest in Gold. Still a Smart Move for Your Portfolio

Wow, another reminder to invest in gold! Debka.com is reporting that India will use gold to buy oil from Iran. India spends around $12 billion dollars a year to buy oil from Iran. China is expected to use gold as the unit of currency to buy oil from Iran as well.

So what does that mean? India and China have completely lost faith in the dollar and the euro. India and China are growing faster than the U.S. and are the engines of this new global economy. They have way more influence in the global economy than they did just a few years ago....

It is likely that you have been hearing a lot about the Foreign Exchange market in recent times and the advantages it offers for traders to make profits. This short guide will tell you about the basics of the Forex markets and what you will need in order to take part in this rapidly expanding investment area.

The Foreign Exchange Markets (Forex for short) are a global market where currencies are exchanged and traded. This make used to be the preserve of large market plays such as National and private Investment banks. However in the 1980's changes to the regulation of these markets opened the doors to the smaller investor. The availability of leverage through the use of Margin accounts now allows the small trader the ability to control standard lot sizes in the markets....

Making ends meet on an average household budget is not easy, especially on an average wage with a mortgage or rent to pay. However with the current Global Financial Crisis things have never been worse. The cost of living has sky rocketed. Food prices, power costs, fuel, clothing and school costs have all increased. And, unfortunately there is no light at the end of the tunnel for some time to come....

Total Assets Values listed in United States Dollars.

1. BNP Paribas $2.598 Trillion US Dollars.

BNP Paribas is a French bank headquartered in Paris France. It is a global company with operations in 80 countries and employs 205,000 employees worldwide. BNP Paribas has significant share of the retail banking markets in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Italy. It acquired most of its banking operations in Belgium and Luxembourg from Belgian company Fortis in 2008 which was badly affected by the sub- prime crisis that affected finance companies worldwide. BNP Paribas trades in Belgium as BNP Paribas Fortis and is the largest retail bank in Belgium.

There has been major debate lately regarding the financial stability of the banks. Given the large bail out of the banks coming from taxpayer money and the massive under capitalization of some of the major banks it is apparent that there is a huge need for change in some of the bank's capital reserve structures. The banks have been getting pressure from the "Basel Committee on Banking Supervision" to increase reserves and prevent another hit to the global financial system. Currently banks are required to hold 7% of their assets in reserve and they plan on increasing reserves to 8% - 9.5% total and to implement the change over a 3 year term. Based on the massive bail outs that previously happened this does not seem like near enough of a reserve and more of a political ploy to show that they are trying to make a change to benefit the global financial system. While I agree this is a step in the right direction I do not believe it is anywhere near enough.