Banks provide a number of important financial services to businesses:
1. Loans provide
businesses with expansion capital. A bank will lend a business a given sum for
a specified period of time.
2. Business account services enable
a
business
to
transact
its day-to-day
affairs, for example paying wages into employee's accounts, paying bills, and taking up periods of credit.
3. Overdraft facilities enable a business to have a short period of credit to
smooth out cash flow difficulties.
4. Cheques, credit cards and bank
drafts
enable a business
to
smoothly manage its day-to-day payments and transactions.
5. The bank will also provide systematic and ongoing advice, particularly to small businesses and start-ups.
6. Banks also provide long-term finance in the form of mortgages for the purchase of land and property.
7. Merchant
banks
and
issuing
houses
also support companies in
the
management of share issues.