I.

Fill in the blanks with suitable words from the list at the end of the text
and then answer the questions that follow.

Banks fall mainly into two main categories: retail banks and wholesale banks. The term
retail and wholesale are primarily used in trade, where the former refers to selling in
small quantities by the provider to individual customers, and the latter to selling in bulk
to retailers. Hence retail banking refers to banks which offer services to individual
customers, while wholesale banks deal mainly with corporations.
The most obvious type of retail bank is the commercial bank. Commercial banks receive
money on deposit, pay money according to customers’ instructions, negotiate loans, buy
and sell foreign exchange. They also offer investment advice. Commercial banks make a
profit from the spread, the difference between the interest rate paid to account holders,
people who hold deposits with the bank, and the interest rate charged to borrowers. The
most important building of funds for the accounts opened with commercial banks in the
USA is the household sector, which, according to some sources, credit for two thirds of
the increase of such deposits.
There are different types of accounts opened with commercial banks cheque accounts-
checking accounts in American English- have no restrictions as concerns the withdrawal
of funds. However, the rate of interest is rather low. On the other hand, deposit accounts
(also called notice or savings accounts) offer a higher rate of interest, but withdrawals are
restricted by the fact that the depositor has to keep the funds for a specified period in the
bank account or must notify his withdrawal decision some time in advance.
Loans are offered to customers in need of funds and are conditional upon the supplying of
security and interest by borrowers. They are offered in different forms adopted as far as
maturity is concerned to customers’ special needs. Besides loans banks offer overdrafts to
their customers. An overdraft- in fact a special type of loan- means that customers who
have an account with the bank are allowed- if they have negotiated such a facility- to
draw more money from their account then there actually is in it. That means they can
overdraw their account. They will repay within a stipulated period and be charged a rate
of interest for the amount.
The customers can use certain banking products. Thus banks can pay regular bills for
their clients, according to the instructions of the latter, this instrument being called
standing order. Irregular payments can be made collateral from cheque books the banks
make available to their customers.
Savings deposits are also a service offered by retail banks. In the USA, according to some
sources, these banks pay much higher interest rates than commercial banks, although the
latter still attract a high proportion of savings deposits.
A special type of bank in Britain is represented by the current societies. These attract
available funds on deposit by paying higher interest rates than other banks and make
them available in the form of savings to those who want to buy a house.

Accounts, advice, building, bulk, charged, cheque, cheques, collateral, corporations,

credit, current, deposit, dispenser, draw, holders, individual, interest, low, negotiate,

1
notice, notify, overdraw, piece, profit, provider, retail, savings, spread, standing, time

1. What are the main types of banks presented in the text? Briefly explain
each of them.
The main types of banks presented in the above text are the retail and the wholesale
banks.
The retail banks usually work with individual customers. These kinds of banks refer to
selling in small quantities. The wholesale banks handle mainly corporations as customers.

2. What is the difference between retail banks and wholesale banks?

The main difference between retail banks and wholesale banks consists mainly in the type
of customer they deal with. While the wholesale banks deal with big companies and
corporations, the retail banks work mainly with individuals as customers.

3. What are the main banking products and services presented in the text?
The main banking products are the standing order, savings deposits, credit cards, and
travelers’ cheques.

4. Name a few types of bank accounts presented in the text and explain the
difference between them.
The checking accounts and the deposit accounts are the most common bank accounts.
The main difference is the interest rate: this is low for the checking accounts and is higher
for the
deposit accounts.However, the deposit accounts are much more restrictive when it comes
to money withdrawing.

5. Translate the text into Romanian.

Bancile se impart in doua mari categorii: bancile de tip retail si cele de tip
wholesale. Termenii de wholesale si retail se refera in principal la schimburi; primul
se refera la vanzari in cantitati mici unor clienti individuali, pe cand al doilea se refera
in principal la vanzari in cantitati mari unor firme de tip retail. Bancile retail ofera
servicii in principal clentilor individuali, iar cele wholesale au ca si clienti corporatii.
Banca comerciala este cel mai evident tip de banca retail. Banca comerciala
primeste bani la depozit, plateste bani conform cu instructiunile clientilor, negociaza
imprumuturi, cumpara si vinde valuta. Banca comerciala ofera deasemenea si
consultanta. Bancile comerciale fac profit din conturi, diferenta dintre rata dobanzii
platita titularilor de depozite, si rata dobanzii perceputa celor care imprumuta.
Cel mai important venit de fonduri pentru conturile deschise la bancile comerciale
din USA il reprezinta sectorul creditelor personale, care reprezinta doua treimi din
cresterea acestor tipuri de depozite.

2
 Exista diferite tipuri de conturi deschise la bancile comerciale – conturile de tip
cec nu au restrictii in privinta retragerii de fonduri. Totusi, rata dobanzii este relativ
scazuta. Pe de alta parte conturile de tip depozit, ofera o rata a dobanzii mai mare, dar
retragerile de sume din cont sunt restrictionate de faptul ca depunatorul trebuie sa
mentina banii in cont pentru o anumita perioada de timp sau trebuie sa isi anunte
intentia de a efectua o retragere din cont cu o perioada de timp inainte.
Imprumuturile sunt oferite clientilor care au nevoie de fonduri, dar sunt
conditionate de gradul de securitate si de plata dobanzii de catre client bancii. Pe
langa imprumuturi, bancile mai ofera si facilitatea de overdraft clientilor. Un
overdraft – de fapt este un tip mai special de imprumut – presupune ca un client care
are un cont deschis la banca are posibilitatea, daca a negociat in prealabil, sa retraga
mai multi bani decat are in cont. Asta inseamna ca pot sa supra-retraga bani din cont.
Clientii vor achita intr-o perioada stipulata si vor plati cu dobanda suma imprumutata
ca overdraft.
Clientii pot beneficia deasemenea si de anumite produse bancare. Astfel, bancile pot
plati regulat facturile clientilor urmand instructiunile acestora, acest
instrument(facilitate) se numeste "standing orderr". Plati neregulate pot fi facute
colateral cartilor(carnetelor) de cec pe care bancile le pun la dispozitia clientilor.
Depozitele de economii sunt deasemenea un serviciu oferit de bancile tip retail.
Acestea atrag fondurile disponibile la depozit. In SUA, conform cu unele surse,
aceste banci platesc dobanzi mult mai mari, desi acestea din urma atrag un mare
procent din economiile la depozit.
Un tip mai deosebit de banca in Marea Britanie, o reprezinta societatile
de.......Acestea atrag fondurile disponibile la depozit paltind rate ale dobanzii mult
mai mari si le fac disponibile sub forma a.....celor care vor sa-si cumpere o locuinta.

II. Match the words with the definitions.

1. mortgage a. automatic teller machine - 14

2. maturity b. a loan to buy property which serves as
security for the loan - 1
3. retail bank c. difference between interest rate paid by a
bank to its depositors and the rate it charges
from its borrowers - 5
4. withdraw d. set of shares and bonds or other securities
owned by a bank’s customer. - 15
5. spread e. a type of account with a higher rate of
interest for money in deposits but requiring
notification in advance for withdrawing the
funds - 10
6. standing order f. a type of account with low interest but
with no restrictions for withdrawal - 9
7. deposit g. an arrangement with a bank which pays
the customer’s regular bills charging them to
his account - 6

3
8. cash dispenser h. guarantee for a loan - 11
9. current account i. the time when a debt must be repaid - 2
10. notice account j. money in a bank account - 7
11. security k. Society of Worldwide Inter-bank Funds
Transfer - 11
12. SWIFT l. a statement sent regularly by a bank to a
customer, showing the money that has gone
into and out of theit account over a particular
period of time. - 13
13. bank statement m. an automatic cash machine from which
the customer can withdraw cash at any time
using a cash card. - 8
14. ATM n. type of bank dealing with individual
customers - 3
15. portfolio o. take money from a bank account - 4
16. IBRD p. The International Monetary Fund - 17
17. IMF r. The International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development - 16

III. Translate into English.

1. Va rugam sa deschideti un cont pe numele Smith, Jones and Co.

Please open an account on the Smith, Jones and Co name.

2. Pentru a deschide contul, anexam un cec emis de Banca Comerciala in

valoare de RON 10 mil.
For opening this account, we attach a check submitted by the Commercial Bank for
10 mil RON.

3. Acest cec in valoare de $1000 tras asupra Bancii de Dezvoltare, va

constitui depozitul nostrum initial.
This check for $1000 on the Bank of .Development. bank, will be our initial deposit.

4. Plata se va face prin transfer bancar.

The payment will be done by bank transfer.

5. Contul dumneavoastra este descoperit cu RON 5 mil.

Your bank account is ...... with 5 mil RON.

6. Suntem gata sa va acordam un imprumut, cu conditia sa fie garantat.

We are willing to offer you a loan as long as it is secured.

4
 7. Noi oferim credite clientilor nostril si le oferim conditii avantajoase de
rambursare.
We offer loans to our customers and also provide very good refund (repayment) solutions
(conditions).

8. Graficul de rambursare este prezentat in sectiunea 2 a contractului de

imprumut.
The refund graphic is presented in section2 of the loan contract.

9. Sucursala dumneavoastra va lua masurile necesare pentru ca prelevarile sa

apara in borderoul de varsamint.
Your branch office will take the necessary measures so that ....

10. Conturile curente cu dobinda sint din ce in ce mai utilizate in Anglia.

Current accounts with interest are more and more used in England.

IV. Fill in the blanks with suitable words from the list at the end of the text
and then answer the questions that follow.

Assets are the economic inventories of an entity or we may say that assets are what the
company owns the claims of different parties against the assets of a company/entity are
called equities. They are subdivided into liabilities and owners’ (shareholders’) equity.
Liabilities are the claims of the creditors of a company, people from outside the
organization.
In a double- entry bookkeeping system of accounting, the basic accounting equation is
Assets= Equity, as the two parts of an account must be balanced. An extended
formulation of the equation will be Assets= Liabilities + owners’ (shareholders’) equity.
Assets are subdivided into two broad categories: liquid assets and fixed assets.
Current assets are those that are part of the operating cycle of a business and are likely to
be turned into cash within one year. Here we include what is sometimes called payable
assets, that is funds readily available such as cash deposited in current accounts
in banks, Treasury bills, that can be redeemed in three months, certificates of deposit,
marketable securities, debtors (UK) or accounts receivable(USA). Stocks ready for sale,
or resources should also be included here. Insurance policies expiring within one year can
be added to the category of current assets.
Fixed assets include tangible assets such as plants, buildings, factories, land, that is those
assets that cannot be turned into cash as they are required for the operation of the entity.
Some intangible assets, that cannot be readily computed and turned into cash, can be
added to the category of fixed assets. Examples in this respect are patents, trademarks,
copyrights.
Liabilities are what the company owes to people/corporations outside the entity. Here we
include obligations of the company to supply money, goods or services to other parties.

5
Current liabilities are those falling due for payment within one year. They refer to
creditors (UK) or current accounts (USA), taxation payable, and other debts due for
payment in the near future.
Long-term liabilities are to be paid at some distant time. Examples are long-term
borrowings and mortgages.

Bills, cash, current (2 times), entry, equation, equities, fixed, falling, intangible,
inventories, liabilities, liquid, owes, owns, paid, payable, receivable, resources, turned.

1. What are current assets? Give three examples.

The assets are the sum of liabilities and the owner's shareholders. The current assets are
estimated to be turned into cash within one year.
- financial assets
- financial fixed assets
- financial non-current assets
- investment assets

2. What are current liabilities? Give three examples.

The current liabilities are what the company has to pay to outside parties within one year.
- creditor debts
- taxation payable
- accounts payable
- bills

3. What is the basic accounting equation?

The basic accounting equation says that assets equals equities.

4. Translate the text into Romanian.

V. Read the definitions below, then complete the phrases that follow by combining
an appropriate word from the box with costs.

1. Usual expenses such as rent, heating, lighting, which are not changed by
the volume of production. fixed costs.
2. Expenses which increase with increased production, e.g. labour, raw
materials. labour costs.
3. All costs directly related to production. production costs.
4. The costs of employing workers and staff. variable costs.
5. The costs for the day-to-day running of a company or business operating
costs.
6. Selling at a price which is exactly what the product has cost to make.
Cost price.
7. The study of all likely costs associated with a product. Cost analysis.
8. The total costs of all products sold. Cost of sales.

6
Operating, sales, fixed, labour, analysis, price, variable, production

VI. Translate into English.

1. Noi intocmim fiecare factura in trei exemplare.

We make three copies of every bill.

2. Activele imobilizate includ terenuri, cladiri, masini si vehicule.

The fixed assets are made of lands, buildings, cars and vehicles.

3. Cheltuielile noastre de exploatare au crescut mult timp de un an, desi

productia a ramas constanta.
Our operating expenses have increased a lot for a year, although the production remained
constant.

4. Cu ce fond de rulment lucreaza ei?

What is the working capital they deal with?

5. Fondul de rulment se calculeaza scazind obligatiile curente din activele

curente.
The working capital is calculated by substracting the liabilities from the current assets.

6. Dividendul s-a platit in ianuarie.

The dividends were paid in January.

7. Profiturile inaintea impozitarii obtinute de companiile americane au

crescut cu 15% in primul semestru al anului trecut.
The profits obtained by the american companies before taxation have increased by 15%
in the first quarter of last year.

VII. How do you see the future of the Romanian banking system?
The future of the Romanian banking system looks promising for the next few years .
Probably, the banking system has never been in a better shape than it is now but the
positive evolution can continue in the years to come taking into account that Romania
will become EU member starting with 1st of January 2007. However, the romanian banks
will have to face the competion from the foreign banks and in order to resist in a highly
competional environment like the E.U. bank system, they will have to improve their
sevices and to promote new products that can defeat the competition.

VIII. Describe a few banking products that you use.

· The bank products I use are the loans, the credit cards and the standing order. I use the
loans every time I need extra money.
· The credit card I use mainly to get my salary every month from the bank which works
with the company I work for.

7
· I use the standing order service to avoid paying by myself the monthly bills. The
bank takes care of paying these with the money I have in my account.